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[DogDayPM 9er9er9er]

I know just the guy who could help you, but he lives in NJ.

Dogday lives in Jersey?  I knew it!  Please tell me his house has a giant italian flag on it and he has an ultra platinum membership to the tanning salon.  Please oh pretty please. 

Whuzzat?  When did I become a physicist hitman?  I only do chemists and chemical engineers (i.e., for purposes of thinning the competition...).

[JimIvey]

What makes a litigator's life "hell"?

I was talking with a litigator at my old firm and he was telling me about having been on a big, long case.  After about 6 months in, he decided he needed a break and took his first day off in that time -- a Sunday.  He said he had no idea what to do -- just sat in his apartment.  Hadn't really been there much, so it was a bit of a novelty.  Turned on the TV.  Had no idea what any of the shows were.  None of it was appealing.  In the afternoon, he was so bored he went back to work.

On the other hand, if you get all your hours in and your case ends, you can take really long vacations, like for a month or so.  That is, unless you want to be around for when the next big case comes in.

One of the top partners at my own firm had no idea who Steve Martin was.  "You mean Dean Martin."  "No, Steve Martin, the comedian."  "Dean Martin is the comedian."  It had been that long since he had seen the world outside the firm.

If you love the firm, love the law, love your work, and don't really have interest in anything else, it's heaven, not hell.  Otherwise, hell.

Regards.

[smgsmc]

.... Turned on the TV.  Had no idea what any of the shows were.  None of it was appealing.  ....


....  One of the top partners at my own firm had no idea who Steve Martin was.  "You mean Dean Martin."  "No, Steve Martin, the comedian."  "Dean Martin is the comedian."  It had been that long since he had seen the world outside the firm.

OR,

(a) He has good tastes and doesn't care for round after round of inane talk shows and reality shows.

(b) He has good tastes and appreciates what a really good comedian is.

[JimIvey]

(a) He has good tastes and doesn't care for round after round of inane talk shows and reality shows.

Well, maybe.  However, the guy confessed that he had no idea what else to do.  His personal life had whithered well beyond a sad, lonely one to one that didn't exist at all. 

It wasn't hopeless.  He made a commitment to cultivate and maintain some sort of personal life, but the story is that he temporarily lost it and deciding to have one required compromising his career a bit.

(b) He has good tastes and appreciates what a really good comedian is.

There's a difference between appreciating someone's work and knowing that it exists.  This particular partner had missed out on the preceding couple of decades of pop culture.  He had his reasons, but that's not what I was responding to.  I was responding to a question as to how a litigator's life could be hell.  It's only hell if you'd like to do other things too.

Regards.

[bickle_tROM]

I find this a little confusing.  It seems that people are saying that litigators don't have a life, yet can bill 100% of their time spent working.  On the other hand, it seems that people are saying that prosecutors can bill something like 70% of their time spent working and that the billing requirements at most firms essentially mean that prosecutors have to work constantly in order to meet their billing requirements. 

If billing requirements are the same for litigators and prosecutors, yet prosecutors have to work 30% more to meet them, why is it the litigators who work so hard they don't have a life?  Put another way, how is that prosecutors work 30 % more to meet their billable requirements and, yet, manage to have more free time?

Confused.

[JimIvey]

When a case is going to trial and you're working on that case, you don't bill the minimum.  It's not uncommon for litigators to work 14-16-hour days for months on end (e.g., 8 months, 14 months, etc.), then take a few months of vacation. 

At the same time, my posts were to answer a question as to how a litigator could work so hard as to not have a life.  Some litigators manage to have a life.  But, patent litigation tends to involve large, complex, all-consuming cases.

The problem with being a patent attorney in a large, general-practice firm is that patent attorneys tend to not bill much more than the minimum required, if even that much.  And, the other attorneys in the firm tend to bill much more.  So, the patent attorneys are often viewed as slackers since the other attorneys tend to imagine what their lives would be like if they only billed the minimum and think the patent attorneys lead a really cushy life.

To use some numbers batted around above, imagine trying to convince partners who bill 3,000 hours a year that billing 2,000 hours a year is too hard.  It's really apples and oranges, but most partnerships are loathe to admit that.

Regards.

[bickle_tROM]

Just so I have a handle on this, it seems that the conclusion is that the only way you can avoid misery is to work in a small patent prosecution shop.  Do I have that right?

[whokebe]

Just so I have a handle on this, it seems that the conclusion is that the only way you can avoid misery is to work in a small patent prosecution shop.  Do I have that right?

No, you got it wrong.  The conclusion is not to work in law, or more accurately, not to work at all. 

[stuffball]

This is probably not what OP wants to hear... but here's my two cents.

Getting hired at a particular law firm (whether it is Finnegan or some other firm) is a function of a lot of things, including some factors that are out of your control.  It could be that, when OP applied to Finnegan, they were already dead-set on hiring a summer associate with the same background.  It could also be that business was down in semiconductor devices and they were actually looking to eliminate some of their existing workforce (i.e., weren't even considering hiring newbies).  It could be that the hiring partner that year went to GWU and, therefore, wouldn't even consider someone with a JD from another George.

Finnegan is a great place to learn to practice, but it's hardly the only one.  Sounds like OP is actually in a pretty good situation already.  If I were OP, I wouldn't worry too much. If something better comes a long, great.  If not, so what?  Either way, you're getting paid good money and establishing yourself.  Sounds like you're on the right track.  Don't sweat it.

[JimIvey]

Just so I have a handle on this, it seems that the conclusion is that the only way you can avoid misery is to work in a small patent prosecution shop.  Do I have that right?

Many people work in large, high-stress firms and end up in rewarding careers.  I don't know a better way to learn the trade than to work in a top-quality firm (so hard to assess, by the way).  You can think of it as an internship -- like what doctors go through but that pays better.  After about 3 years in that environment, you can almost write your ticket to work in just about any environment.

You might find you like the environment and stay.  You might find many other opportunities to work in smaller firms or in-house (they tend not to hire with fewer than 3 years' experience).  You might hate it all and leave the practice forever.  But, if you can get into a top-notch firm, that's the best way to start.  Just note that it's a really bad time to start a family.  Set aside huge personal changes for that time.

Regards.

[rene_descartes]

Finnegan has hired a lot of people from my school.
I have no idea how this selection process goes. I feel I am well qualified with an M.Sc and law review credential; but I never got an interview.

[bald & chained]

Finnegan has hired a lot of people from my school.
I have no idea how this selection process goes. I feel I am well qualified with an M.Sc and law review credential; but I never got an interview.

again, to reiterate stuffball's excellent post above, there is more to getting hired at any given firm than just having abstractly impressive credentials, such as Law Review Editor or Boy Scout master. Your skills have to match the firm's current needs and you must be reasonably lucky in your timing.  For example, back when I interviewed, I got offers from all the "prestigious" IP shops, including Finnegan.  However, I was surprised to not get an offer from an IP firm that is somewhat lower on the totem poll (recently dissolved, ha!). What happened? I am guessing they didn't have a need for someone with my skillset, as I later found out that the partner who interviewed me left the firm a few months after I interviewed, taking the whole practice group with him.