"Patents and Engineer-Lawyers" by Eric O’Brien ’11, Attorney,Covington & Burling, Washington DC

Are you a Hope College engineering student who enjoys (or can tolerate) writing? Are you also gullible enough to believe Prof. Veldman when he says that patent lawyers spend all their time on their boats and on the golf course? If so, Eric O'Brien '11 was once in your shoes. Join him as he discusses patent law, his path from engineering student to patent litigator, and what a career in patents might really look like for you.

Bio: Eric O'Brien is an attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington D.C., where he focuses his practice on patent litigation and intellectual property policy. Eric graduated from Hope College in 2011 with a B.S. in Engineering (Civil Emphasis) and a B.A. in English, and he received his J.D. from the Duke University School of Law in 2016. Prior to law school, Eric worked as a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Army at the Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan. Eric and his wife Katie--who he met in law school--live in Arlington, Virginia with their sons Connor (2) and Andrew (3 months).