There are plenty of patent attorneys in Silicon Valley, but there aren’t enough like Alexander Shvarts.
The Ropes & Gray associate possesses a combination of science and communication skills increasingly demanded from patent attorneys. He’s not only a techie with a degree in computer science from Cornell University, which helps him understand complicated patents and work with their inventors; he also likes writing and schmoozing with clients. “This fits my personality perfectly,” Shvarts said.
That’s why Ropes & Gray accepted Shvarts into the firm’s technical adviser program, which first trained him to be a patent agent and then paid his tuition at Fordham University School of Law. Now the 32-year-old is based in Ropes & Gray’s Palo Alto, Calif., office, and travels to universities to persuade other future engineers and scientists to become patent lawyers in Silicon Valley, too.
Ropes & Gray may have a long list of big-name clients such as Apple Inc. and Pfizer Inc., but getting the right candidates to join the program isn’t easy. “One of the biggest challenges we have is recruiting,” Shvarts said. “These people can go wherever they want.”
Ropes & Gray’s technical adviser program isn’t unique. For years, firms such as Morrison & Foerster; Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner; and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati have sent people with science degrees to law school and hired them as patent attorneys after graduation.
via lawjobs.com Career Center – Silicon Valley Pushes to Turn Scientists Into Lawyers.
