Center for Law and Technology Career Development
Intellectual Property Career Development
The IP program has an excellent placement rate for our graduates. This is due to the program’s reputation and size. Nearly every large national law firm with an IP group recruits from GW Law. Due to the high demand for IP students (and in particular patent students), many of our IP students receive multiple offers from law firms. And the law firms vigorously compete for our IP students. Nearly every US-based law firm that has an IP group employs at least one GW Law alumni. Finnegan (a leading patent firm), for example, employs over 30 GW law alums.
Thousands of GW Law graduates have gone on to successful careers in IP law and we are actively working on fostering this community of alumni. GW IP alums have not only achieved success in practice and government, some have also obtained tenure-track positions at law schools in IP law and another obtained a fellowship. Working with GW Law’s Alumni and Development office, the IP Program supports fundraising efforts through a renewed focus on alumni engagement and social media presence.
The IP program offers the following opportunities to help students with career development:
- IP Networking Fair
- IP Internships, Clerkships, and Employment with Federal Agencies
- Internships and Placement
- Career Counseling
Privacy & Technology Career Development
In privacy and technology law, students enjoy robust employment opportunities and very satisfying and successful career. GW alumni are well-represented among the top privacy and technology lawyers in the world, including many senior partners at large law firms, privacy counsel at some of the largest tech companies (Google, Meta, Amazon), regulators (FTC, HHS, U.S. Department of Commerce), and public interest organizations. More than 95% of the largest law firms have privacy and cybersecurity practices. Most large organizations employ many full-time privacy professionals, including many lawyers. Many government agencies have privacy lawyers, and the leading organization for privacy lawyers, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, grows by by 25-30% or more each year. Privacy law is one of just 15 specialty areas accredited by the ABA.
Based on our location in Washington, DC, many students pursue internships at federal agencies such as the FTC and FCC, entities such as the World Bank, trade associations, and public interest organizations. GW Law has a great track record in placing students in prestigious post-grad fellowships at privacy law organizations. An extensive group of alumni in the field eagerly advise and mentor GW Law students.