Graduates of the Intellectual Property Program at The John Marshall Law School returned to share their insights on job searches. Panelists (from left) were Adam Kelly (JD ’02) who moderated the program, with Dan Lechleiter (JD ’05), Jacob Bachman (JD ’07), Michael Golenson (JD ’09), Anshul Mangal (JD ’09) and Brian Jones (JD ’11).
Wondering how to find that first IP position? Are you ready for the Loyal Patent Interview Program? Do you have a great résumé and strong interviewing skills?
You could be on your way to a great career in intellectual property (IP) law if you take advantage of all the Intellectual Property Law (IP) Program at The John Marshall Law School has to offer and are persistent in your job search, alumni told students at the “Capitalizing on John Marshall’s IP Program.” The law school’s Center for Intellectual Property Law offers a certificate program for JD candidates or a joint JD/LLM degree program for qualified students.
On Feb. 23, six IP alumni shared their early experiences in the IP field for the program co-sponsored by the Career Services Office and the Review for Intellectual Property Law (RIPL).
The program panel, moderated by Adam Kelly (JD ’02) of Loeb & Loeb, included Jacob Bachman (JD ’07) and Brian Jones (JD ’07), both of Brinks Hofer; Michael Golenson (JD ’09) of K&L Gates; Anshul Mangal (JD ’09) of Jones Day; and Daniel Lechleiter (JD ’05) of Baker & Daniels.
Several of the panelists shared their own experiences dealing with rejection, figuring out how to improve their presentations and continuing their efforts to get that first job in IP law.
Kelly told how he used the John Marshall IP alumni network. Making those contacts got him a summer corporate internship, despite the general understanding that corporations were not offering summer associate positions.
Jones spoke of how even though he had a stack of rejection letters he remained positive and landed a summer position in Taiwan, which gave him valuable international experience that he parlayed when looking for a job.
Each alumnus reminded students that today it is important to be practice ready. Firms do not want to train associates; they want new attorneys who can hit the ground running.
At John Marshall, the Center for Intellectual Property Law has a varied curriculum that gives students a wide range of options, including more than 20 IP courses at the JD level and nearly 50 courses at the LLM level. The law school values the experience of its outstanding adjunct faculty who are among the top IP practitioners in the Chicagoland area.
Students also can focus on IP as a member of RIPL, a nationally-recognized online law journal focusing on IP, or try out for one of three moot court IP competitions. Kelly, for example, won the national Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition as a third-year student.
John Marshall is a leader in international IP through its long-standing partnership with the State Intellectual Property Office in China. The law school’s Chinese IP Resource Center works to help students learn about international decisions in one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and hosts its annual IP summer program in China.
To learn more, call the Center at 312.386.2818 or contact Elizabeth Sherman at the Center office at esherman@jmls.edu.