One of my favorite things about writing this column is the ability it affords me to discuss interesting IP issues from a variety of angles. That effort is even more rewarding when I have a chance to follow up with people who have made a direct contribution to our thinking on one of those issues. Back in April, I discussed an upcoming Alabama Law Review article, called “The Secret World of Design Patents,” hailing its contribution to our understanding how design patent litigation actually works in America. In particular, I lauded the article for how it provides the IP community with “answers … to a number of basic questions about design patent enforcement.” Sorely needed information, especially when we consider the growing importance of design patents in the modern IP ecosystem.
Besides for the value of the article’s content, I was happy to see that the article was a product of law professor/law student collaboration. The article was co-authored by Northwestern Law’s David Schwartz, together with our interview subject (a current Kirkland IP litigation associate), Xaviere Giroud. I am pleased that Xavi has graciously agreed to discuss her work on the article, while also sharing her personal path toward practicing IP law. While I have had the privilege of interviewing leading IP academics on these pages before, a written interview with a published law student turned IP practitioner had eluded me. Until now.
By way of background, Giroud is an intellectual property litigation associate in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Prior to graduating from law school, Xavi was a Summer Associate at Knobbe Martens in the Orange County office and at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in the Chicago office. She was also a Public Interest Law Initiative Graduate Fellow at Equip for Equality in Chicago where she advocated for special education students. In the first installment of our two-part interview, Xavi shares how her undergraduate studies in engineering, coupled with exposure to certain aspects of patent practice, cemented her desire to practice IP law and how she built on those foundations to maximize her exposure to IP while in law school, culminating in her earning her current role as an IP litigation associate at one of the undisputed leading Biglaw firms in the space.
As usual, I have added some brief commentary to Xavi’s answer below but have otherwise presented her answer to my first question as she provided it.
GK: You have a science background and are currently working as a Kirkland IP litigation associate. Was there ever any doubt you would gravitate toward IP practice?
XG: No, I never had any doubts about that! I enjoyed studying biomedical engineering in undergrad, but I couldn’t see myself doing the hands-on designing and engineering long-term. A practice in intellectual property law gave me the perfect opportunity to continue to utilize my undergraduate degree, while taking a more bird’s-eye-view approach to technology. Though, I will admit, before taking an introductory intellectual property class in my first year of law school, I really had no idea what “intellectual property law” was. I was sold after my first year of law school during my summer associate experience. My first summer I focused on patent prosecution and had the chance to work on a number of projects in the medical device space. I loved sorting through patents, whether it was to analyze prior art or respond to a rejection from the Patent Office, because I learned so much about each piece of technology and how they were designed. From there, I tried to learn as much as I could about intellectual property law in law school — taking intellectual property law classes and joining the Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property — and I haven’t looked back since.
Xavi’s experience of not really knowing much about IP law before starting law school is very typical, and certainly mirrors my personal situation when beginning my legal studies. The tide may be changing though, as having basic IP literacy becomes more of a requirement for a successful career in many industries, a need driven by the increased value of IP in the modern global economy. With the growing number of IP-centric courses being offered at business schools, colleges, and even high schools, it is my hope that more students will have exposure to IP earlier in their educational careers, which could help attract even more talented young scientists with an interest in practicing law to eventual IP practice, as Xavi was able to do. In her case, it is great to see how exposure to IP practice as a summer associate helped inform her decision to pursue more IP classes and a spot on an IP journal in law school. Ultimately leading to her current position and what I hope will be a long and successful career in the field.
Next week, I will conclude my interview with Xavi, focusing on how she came to collaborate with Prof. Schwartz on a comprehensive review of the data about design patent litigation.
Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.