Can learning US IP laws as an Indian lawyer enable you to land a full-time job in the US as an Indian lawyer?
Very much.
Let me tell you about Ruchira Mitra, an Indian lawyer who graduated from Calcutta University in 2015 and worked for 5 years in India in a small law firm.
After that, she had to quit her job as she got married and moved to the US with her husband, who had secured a job in a tech company in Silicon Valley.
Ruchira didn’t want to give up her career as a lawyer, and was wondering if there was any way in which she could continue to earn.
She did not want to work in a local restaurant, etc. and wanted to continue her career as a lawyer.
But how could she get a job in the US?
Most US employers did not recognise her Indian experience or qualifications.
She did not have the time to pursue a full fledged JD qualification in the US.
Could she get a breakthrough here?
It took her only 3 months.
In 2021, we started training her and teaching US IP paralegal skills.
As she was learning the skills, she also built her track record, performing mock assignments of US IP tasks.
US IP law was quite similar to Indian IP work, she realised.
This is because both countries are signatories to the TRIPS Agreement of the WTO, which means that at a practical level much of the concepts and the work are similar.
The difference lay in the procedures, timelines and authorities.
Ruchira found US IP skills easy to learn with some effort.
She also started reaching out to potential US clients whom she could assist, to build an initial track record.
Having worked with some clients might give her an advantage in the interview with a US recruiter, as she could share those experiences.
Ruchira added her sample assignments to her freelance profiles to increase her credibility.
Soon after, she landed her first freelance assignment for USD 30.
She performed a few more assignments.
Alongside, she was applying for full-time office jobs in the US.
She mentioned them in her CV as well.
She was able to get a call from a US-based recruiter, who had shortlisted her for an interview with a position for Sony Interactive Entertainment!
She simply utilised the study materials that we had provided to prepare for the interview, and mentioned her client experiences of catering to US clients in the interview.
Guess what!
Ruchira landed a full-time job with Sony as a legal assistant!
Her role involved getting counterfeit products being sold in the US market, including pirated imports from other countries, seized and taking further actions to prevent piracy.
She was earning approx. USD 6-7k per month, comfortably adding support to her husband’s income.
She lives in Santa Clara, California.
Ruchira worked there for approx. 2 years and later shifted to Fenwick & West, US law firm as a Trademark Transfer Coordinator.
She is now preparing for the California Bar Exam to fully qualify as a US attorney.
Learning US IP laws enabled her to secure a job without having to pursue expensive US degrees.
Of course, she later pursued an LLM program while she was working from a local US university, which was within her budget as she was also earning well now.
This was one of her ambitions, and her employer was supportive.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to shift to the US right now – you could be working remotely for US clients from India as well, as many of our learners have been doing.
Want the best Indian jobs as an IP lawyer?
Even then, if you know US IP laws you will also have an advantage when you apply for jobs with top Indian IP law firms or with MNCs because they often deal with US clients and US IP laws.
Of course, you must also learn Indian IP laws, and we will show you how you can do that in a free, live bootcamp this weekend.
You could be a litigator who wants to work with US clients on the side and earn a side income of 50k-1 lakh per month by working remotely for 2-3 hrs/day while you continue to hustle in your Indian litigation practice.
Working with international clients can also give you additional credibility when you network with Indian clients and larger corporations because chances are that the other litigators they approach may not have such an experience.
Do you want to learn how you can do it?
If you want to know how to do it, then join our Free 3-day bootcamp on “How to Kickstart Your International IP Practice Today” on July 13th, 14th, and 15th of July (7 PM – 10 PM).
We’ll show you how to create a remote freelance career and teach you two skills that Ruchira used to build her track record and land a job in the US.
The Bootcamp is a live one and no recordings shall be made available. Make sure to mark your calendar.
See you there!
Regards,
Sonali Parashar