If you’re interested in intellectual property law, you’ll be interested in Finnegan’s Summer Associate Program. During the ten-week program, you’ll be exposed to the full range and diversity of an intellectual property law practice. You’ll receive real work assignments involving litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings, prosecution, licensing, trademark, copyright, and the drafting of opinions and briefs. You’ll receive specialized training that complements your legal studies in areas such as legal writing, patent application filing strategies, overview of licensing, and an overview of PTAB and litigation best practices. You’ll meet peers drawn from top law schools across the country and have ample opportunity to socialize with Finnegan partners and associates—all in structured circumstances that stress professionalism, training, and development.
Finnegan is a force in intellectual property law, with a powerful track record of defending and advocating for the innovation of clients. But for us, IP law is more than a zero-sum game of winners and losers. Innovation and rulings have multi-dimensional implications, and clients regularly turn to us for consultative guidance as they navigate new or shifting IP terrain. Whatever assignments you work on, you’ll be right at the center of the IP conversation, part of an organization that includes nearly 300 professionals with scientific degrees,over 40 former U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clerks, 220+ professionals registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and 65+ professionals with Ph.D.’s.
Finnegan is a place to work hard, grow fast, and live your values. The Summer Associate Program is an important springboard into an organization and culture that prizes relationships, teamwork, and respect, regardless of title or function. Our professionals are multilingual and multicultural, and they work with clients in real-time around the world. Your peers hail from locations ranging from Romania to Pennsylvania to Colombia to Taiwan. There’s a reason Vault ranked us as a top law firm for diversity in its 2023 rankings. Find out why many Finnegan professionals spend their entire career here.
As you lay the foundation for your career, know that Finnegan attorneys serve clients through 10 major IP practice areas and many additional sub-practices. We also follow innovation, with specialist teams focused on more than 20 industries that currently generate the bulk of global IP activity.
The Summer Associate Program operates in our Washington, DC headquarters, and in one of four other U.S. offices situated near innovation hubs in Atlanta, Boston, Palo Alto, or Reston.
Are you currently attending a law school where we recruit on campus (see our on-campus schedule)? If so, please apply through your career development office. If not, simply e-mail a cover letter, resume, and your law school transcript to the recruiting department of the office in which you are interested. (See “Recruiting Contacts.”)
Not necessarily, but it helps. We recruit summer associates from top law schools across the country. Successful candidates will have superior academic credentials—you must be in the top 25 percent of your law school class and have an outstanding technical background in a hard science, engineering, or computer science, or significant experience in trademark/copyright matters.
If your initial interview with us – scheduled through your campus recruiting office or one of Finnegan’s offices – is successful, we will schedule a call-back interview. You’ll meet with a member of Finnegan recruiting department and then with pairs of attorneys from a variety of practice areas for half-hour meetings and lunch. Our recruiting committee meets on a regular basis during the recruiting season. We will inform you of our decision within two to three weeks of interviewing with us.
For starters, they are smart, willing to work hard, and committed to excelling in intellectual property law. They are expected to demonstrate the ability to analyze complex legal issues, write clearly and persuasively, show initiative, manage time effectively, and assume responsibility for projects. Above all, they’re expected to be team players who work—and play—well with the rest of the team.
In a word: excellent. The number of summer associates we hire is determined by growth projections. If you’re in the program, you can feel confident that we have a spot for you when you graduate.
Our acceptance rate has been over 90 percent for nearly 15 years running.
Ten weeks.
Summer associates spend the full 10 weeks with us. Based on experience, we have found that this approach works best both for our firm and the summer associate.
Yes, we consider 1L applications on a very limited basis beginning December 1.
The summer program stresses professionalism, training, and development. During our Summer Associate Program, you are exposed to the full range and diversity of an intellectual property law practice. You receive real work assignments that complement the training programs you attend. You’ll also have ample opportunity to socialize with partners and associates who can help you get acquainted with the local area.
Yes and no. You’ll be “adopted” by the practice group you are likely to join after graduation. However, because we believe strongly in broad exposure during the early stages of a legal career, you’ll get to work on a variety of projects across practice groups.
You’ll work on matters involving litigation, licensing, prosecution, opinion writing, interferences, IP management, and other legal areas as diverse as antitrust, government contracts, and export control (always as they relate to patent, trademark, and/or copyright matters). Most assignments are relatively discrete, so you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with many different attorneys.
Unlike some firms, where assignments are chosen via a notebook or firm intranet posting, work in all of our offices is assigned through a central coordinator—typically an attorney or experienced member of the recruiting department. You will be actively engaged in cutting- edge, real-time matters that are representative of the work of the firm.
You’ll receive regular feedback on your performance. Every attorney who works with a summer associate provides feedback as part of the firm’s “second attorney review” policy, and is required to fill out a written evaluation for each assignment completed. During your midsummer and final reviews, you’ll receive formal feedback and an assessment of your performance. You’ll also be invited to ask questions about the firm or the program, as well as provide suggestions to us for improving the program for future summer associates.
Finnegan sets a high bar. We have to – especially if we want to retain our reputation as one of the top IP firms in the world. So some things to consider: Are you a student at one of the top law schools in the country, in the top 25% of your class? Do you have an outstanding technical background in a hard science or CS, engineering, or significant experience in trademark/copyright matters?
If the answers are ‘yes,’ we’d love to talk with you when we visit your campus. If you attend a law school where we conduct on-campus interviews, please apply through your career development office for an interview. We conduct on-campus interviews at the following locations:
American University |
Arizona State University |
Bay Area Diversity Career Fair |
Berkeley Law |
Boston College |
Boston University |
Chicago Patent Law Interview Program |
Emory Law |
Georgetown University |
George Mason University |
Georgia State University |
George Washington University |
Harvard Law School |
Howard Law School |
Midwest-California Consortium Interview Program |
National Law School Consortium |
Santa Clara |
SFIPLA Bay Area Job Fair |
Southeastern Intellectual Property Job Fair |
Southeastern Minority Job Fair |
Stanford |
The Law Consortium (TLC) |
UC Davis |
UC Hastings |
UCLA |
USC |
University of Alabama |
University of Florida |
University of Georgia |
University of New Hampshire |
University of Maryland |
University of Pennsylvania |
University of Virginia |
University of Washington |
Vanderbilt |
Veterans Legal Career Fair |
To submit your application for an attorney, technical specialist, patent agent, student associate, or summer associate position with Finnegan, please visit our careers page to view our current openings. Please do not submit applications via email.
If you have any questions about our hiring needs or other recruiting-related questions, please reach out to the recruiting contacts below.
Atlanta office:
Hiring Contact: Erica Campbell, Recruiter
Email: erica.campbell@finnegan.com
Boston office:
Hiring Contact: Christine Brennan, Recruiter
Email: christine.brennan@finnegan.com
Palo Alto office:
Hiring Contact: Meave Cox, Recruiter
Email: meave.cox@finnegan.com
Reston office:
Hiring Contact: Katie Bryant, Recruiter
Email: katie.bryant@finnegan.com
Washington office:
Hiring Contact: Laurie Taylor, Recruiter
Email: laurie.taylor@finnegan.com
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