The Work
The vast majority of entry-levelers join the patent litigation or patent prosecution group. Summer associates get to try their hand at both litigation and prosecution, and depending on the office, can continue to dabble in both at the full-time level too. It’s a “free market” assignment system. “We have an online system where you can see someone’s docket, but you can work for whoever you like, even outside of your office.”
Surveys show that Fish handles more patent litigation than any other firm in the world, representing clients ranging from individual inventors to the world's largest corporations, in both federal district courts and at the International Trade Commission. According to Chambers USA, Fish is one of the top three firms for Section 337 ITC work. “There really is a breadth of different types of cases – ITC, federal circuit appeals. The Texas office has a big patent docket; San Diego works with big tech companies like Microsoft and Google. Boston and New York do a lot of pharma – such a wide range it’s incredible.” Others mentioned working on cases involving semiconductors, software and medical devices. Juniors spent time “preparing motions and briefs, being responsible for discovery and taking depositions, all within the first year.”
The patent group handles everything from patent prosecution to portfolio management, licensing, interferences and reexamination. Seamless interoffice collaboration is common, with one Dallas attorney explaining: “I do a lot of work with clients in California and Germany. It’s really good exposure.” Juniors spend their time “drafting patent applications, prosecuting patents, doing due diligence, responding to examiners,” for clients like Apple, Google and SAP.
“When I began I worked more closely with supervisors – going back and forth with drafts when preparing patent applications, interacting with the Patent & Trademark Office,” a third-year told us. “Now, there’s a lot more autonomy. I go to them a lot more just for advice. I usually prepare the whole draft myself before it’s reviewed, providing the almost finished work product to send to the client. I also interact with the client myself, providing strategy advice and higher-level stuff.”
Training & Development
The firm’s training program is called School of Fish. New starters throughout offices are gathered for a general orientation, after that “the training is usually across groups, either by video or they fly you in.” There are both prosecution and litigation boot camps held annually where attorneys across the offices get together, as well as NITA training for litigators. “There’s not a whole lot of training, and you do have to learn things on your own – it is one thing that could use improvement,” associates generally agreed. However, on the informal side, seniors “do look for opportunities to get you experience.” Some “know when someone needs help and will take the time out to explain things,” others “just give examples.”
Some associates said that mentoring was the “biggest pitfall of the firm.” However, firm officials confirmed that they had started a formal program. New associates will be assigned partner mentors in their offices; some offices will also assign associate mentors.
“We get very, very in-depth reviews twice a year. Any person you’ve worked more than 10 percent of your time for fills out a pretty lengthy review. It’s usually brutally honest and helps you learn. It’s a great review process,” one associate reported. “Informally, if I have trouble I’ll approach someone, but you have to initiate it.” As for career progression, the firm provides a checklist “of what you should be doing at each stage. It’s pretty aggressive and pretty specific, not a throwaway thing – they do push you along and really focus on your development.”
Offices
“The work across offices is so seamless – I’ve only been staffed on one New York case, the rest have been from DC, Dallas, San Diego and Boston,” a New York litigator told us. “The firm technically doesn’t have an HQ,” a Bostonian explained. “This was the first office and has most partners; this just happens to be where the firm president is. I certainly I feel like I’m in a major office with lots going on, but at the same time the firm doesn’t have a satellite office model.”
An associate in New York added: “Fish has expanded primarily by bringing in practice groups from other firms, which helps avoid isolation. Every office has its own flavor. There are definitely differences based on the office managing principal – they can dictate the feeling of the office.” As Fish is at the top of the tech game, you might imagine offices are decked out in all the latest gear. However, “it's not all futuristic. We use Windows 7 like everyone else. It's not like Minority Report or anything.”
Fish has offices in Boston, New York, DC, Wilmington, Twin Cities, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Atlanta and Munich. For more associate feedback and info, see the Web Extras.
Culture
“We’re a different breed: very wacky, nerdy, but fun to be around,” one associate laughed. “When you walk down the hall you hear things like, ‘Hey, did you see the new data release by Microsoft?’– that’s a big deal around here.” Another added: “I think when you have so many former engineers, there’s that atmosphere. We’re all former geeks... mostly current geeks.”
Fish harbors “a culture of openness, lightheartedness as well. People here have a really good sense of humor and like to joke around,” sources revealed. “People are all down to earth and laid back. It’s all very casual.”
Juniors were impressed by the ability of the partners – or rather principals, as they’re called here – “to stay calm under pressure. The calm, focused and clear approach is pretty ubiquitous. There will be incredibly stressful situations with moments of freak-outs, but they’ll just say, ‘Well this is what we’ve got to do so let’s get it done.’ People are very into teamwork – when the game’s on the line and the clock’s ticking, we’re all working toward the same goal, it’s about not letting anyone drop the ball,” one junior explained. Management’s set up an “admirable” firm structure and culture of transparency that’s led to many associates planning to stick around, juniors believed. “Most of us can reach for that carrot dangling in front of us – principalship is very obtainable. Most of us are here for the long haul. I don’t know anybody who’s really looking to jump ship like I was expecting to.” In January 2011 the firm elevated 16 attorneys to principal.
Hours & Compensation
Associates’ 1,900 hours billing requirement is “an honest target,” sources agreed, and “pretty important to meet.” After a salary freeze throughout the recession, compensation in all offices is now back to lockstep at New York market rate. “When the salaries got frozen it took quite a long time to be unfrozen, but the upside is that last year our bonuses were astronomical. Most of us got $30,000 because the firm was behind the times,” a class of 2008 associate explained. “This year it will still beat market but will probably be more between $15,000 and $20,000.” In fact, bonuses actually ranged from $33,000 to $64,000 this year. Bonuses are “purely merit-based” and consider “many factors, including hours, but also quality of work.” Associates were generally very happy when it came to hours and compensation: “It’s not nearly as grueling, but I feel like I’m paid very well!”
Pro Bono
“The fact that we’re an IP firm means you’d think pro bono’s a rarity. There is the rare chance to do pro bono work in patent prosecution, but most of it has nothing to do with IP at all – it’s interesting and a chance to branch out,” one junior explained. “The pro bono program here is great, honestly, the coordinator is such a great guy and really believes in the causes we take on. There’s always things going around, always a lot to do,” another added. The firm counts 200 pro bono hours toward the billable requirement, and will count more with prior approval. Associates found it easy to work pro bono into their docket “without any backlash,” when they could. But most had “so much billable work on our plate that we don’t have time for anything else.”
There are also opportunities for fellowships and other firm-approved pro bono programs – for example, we heard of one associate who worked six months at the DA’s office. In 2010, Fish was named Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year by the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program and was also named the year’s Access to Justice Pro Bono Law Firm by the Massachusetts Bar Association. In 2009, Fish lawyers helped overturn the death penalty that was facing their client. The firm also has a Space Camp Scholarship program for middle-schoolers, “which is awesome.”
Diversity
“In terms of minorities, some ethnicities are more represented – there are a lot of Asians. I would like to see more African-Americans. I’d also like to see more women,” an associate told us. In terms of numbers, Fish & Richardson does very well when it comes to ethnic minority representation, but the number of women is below average. “It might be because we’re a technical firm and the pool of women with technical backgrounds is smaller, but it’s not deliberate,” one female explained. “Everyone’s working on and thinking about it. I’ve never in a million years felt women weren’t welcome,” another added. In fact, the female associates we spoke to loved that their offices had “a great group of women – you have people who have trailblazed before you. We’re all very close.”
Associates all agreed that “in terms of recruitment, the firm really tries, and it is getting better.” Hiring principal Roger Denning confirms: “We get a lot more male candidates than we do females. That said, it’s important to us to have diversity in all respects. I’ve been personally fortunate to be the only male in cases, and am a big fan of making sure there is that diversity.”
Get Hired
“My job’s become a lot busier lately,” Denning tells us. “There's a big need for more associates. We're definitely hiring in every single office, and have been since summer 2010.” Denning coordinates the firmwide hiring strategy, but each office has its own hiring principal as well. During OCIs candidates interview for the firm in general and can declare interest in multiple offices. The hiring team then passes on recommendations to each office, which reviews the candidates and decides who to bring in for a callback interview.
“We look for a good fit. Unlike a general practice firm with dozens of practice areas, we have sharp focus – so we know what interests or backgrounds are going to fit. We want creative thinkers, people who take initiative and who are problem solvers,” Denning says. Candidates should have “a very strong academic background” and “be strong technically as well.” However, “a love of learning, passion for understanding and exploring things and willingness to dig deep is just as valuable as a degree in engineering. Learning and explaining is what being a lawyer – particularly in IP – is all about. You need to be able to learn your client's business and technology and find ways to explain it to a judge, jury, or patent examiner in a persuasive manner. We've never thought that people without technical backgrounds can't do technical work.”
The firm recruited 33 summer associates for 2011.
Strategy & Future
“It feels like the firm is reluctant to grow again, like it's in post-traumatic shock. We don’t have as many staff – paralegals and secretaries are overworked when they shouldn't be. We need more staff to handle the workload. It’s time to grow again,” some associates noted. Luckily, firm president Peter Devlin tells us, “the most important thing (about 2010) was that we saw very encouraging signs for 2011. We see demand on the rise. 2011-12 will be a lot more predictable, with not as much uncertainty of business levels. As a result, we’re back into a hiring mode – we have specific needs that we’re trying to fill at all levels, though we’re being careful to keep hiring in step with business needs.”
He adds that the firm expects to see significant growth in its pharma patent litigation practice, particularly Hatch-Waxman cases, which “bucked the trend throughout the recession,” as well as its transactional practice.