Some may wonder “what is wrong” with the lawyer who seeks this type of arrangement. Quite likely absolutely nothing. For example, the lawyer may be “burned out” from years of working 70-80 hour weeks. Or the lawyer may be looking for a new challenge. Or the lawyer may find it more exciting to work with companies that are in the “start up phase” with respect to management of their intellectual assets, an option that is difficult to target and achieve in the traditional legal services models.
Regardless of which reasons the lawyer is seeking a less-than-fulltime in-house engagement, the net result is that this lawyer is non-traditional and, quite possibly, more innovative than many of his peers in the IP legal community. An innovative lawyer is more likely to understand and engage with the IP from a business perspective, as opposed to the usual model of IP as a legal function. If your business is seeking to innovate in the area of IP business strategy, this non-traditional model of in-house legal representation might be just the ticket. For more information on where your company can locate legal placement professionals that work in this area, contact me at jackie@jackiehutter.com.