#10 - Doug Etts: Patent Litigator | “It’s Not Like Suits”

This week I spoke with Doug Etts, a 2015 UVA alumni who’s now a Patent Litigation Associate at Fenwick & West Law Firm.

The Rundown:

• COLD OPEN: Big family, big shoes to fill

• TURNING POINT: Learning to argue as an engineer

• STEAL THIS: More than just “what’s your hobbies”

• INDUSTRY INSIDER: Patent litigation v prosecution?

• IF I WERE YOU: Get out of the library

COLD OPEN
How Did You Get Your Start?

It starts with my grandfather – an engineer who became a lawyer in his 30s. Everyone in my family (34 cousins included) looked up to him. My aunt and uncle followed his path, and two of my cousins are in patent law like me.

At UVA, I studied electrical engineering, in part, because I always thought I’d pursue the path my grandfather took.

As a rising fourth year, I was a bit studied out preparing for the LSAT, and against my grandfather and mothers complaints, I didn’t apply to law school right out of college.

My whole fall semester that year I went to every career event I could find looking for a consulting job in D.C. I ended up at a software development consulting company, and did that for a few years.

After a while, I felt like I needed to challenge myself more. Don't get me wrong, there were much harder software jobs then what I had, but it occurred to me that I wanted something different.

So I took the LSAT, went to NYU Law, and have been a patent litigator ever since.

TURNING POINT
What’s A Challenge You Faced Early On?

In the E-school, we didn’t have as many opportunities to write persuasively or learn how to structure arguments.

And as a kid, I was more exposed to sports like football and lacrosse than I was to clubs like speech and debate, so I didn’t get those speaking opportunities early on.

It wasn’t a matter of interest so much as I didn’t even really know speech and debate were things I could do.

That said, I do think a lot of what I learned as an engineering student was very applicable to what I’m doing now. 

I’ve worked on patents related to video content streams across devices and network speeds. It’s not exactly sexy, but a lot of the tech behind this stuff is similar to what I learned in school.

All the work I did when I didn’t get to go out on a Thursday at UVA is actually applicable now, which is pretty cool.

STEAL THIS
What’s A Question You Love Being Asked (Or Asking)?

I’m interested in knowing what people do outside of work that care enough about to put in the time to learn it.

It's kind of like “what’s your hobby,” but it's more than that. What have you actually spent time and effort getting better at?

Why do you work? What are making a living for so that you can go do?

INDUSTRY INSIDER
What Do People Misunderstand About Patent Litigation?

Being a lawyer is not like “Suits.” You can’t just throw a piece of paper on the table and break the case.

The day to day is a lot of work – dotting the i’s, getting the facts you need, getting those facts admitted as evidence, and using them to tell your story.

This can take years. 

For patent law specifically, patent litigators, which is what I do, are not the people who actually get you a patent. We protect the patents you already have.

Typically if you want to be a lawyer who gets people patents, you’d need a specialized degree in engineering, chemistry, or another science, and you’d become a patent prosecutor. 

With patent litigation, though, you can practice it with any background. All you really need is curiosity and willingness to learn, which I hope is reassuring for those interested in it.

IF I WERE YOU
Do You Have Any Advice For Students?

To the engineering folks – dont spend all your time in the library. 

And to everyone else, take advantage of Virginia. You go to one of the best schools in the country, and the resources available to you are immense.

Try everything and broaden your horizons.

CLOSING TIME
You’re Not Behind – This Is What Figuring It Out Looks Like.

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