Teaching Would-Be IP Lawyers to "Speak Engineer": An Interdisciplinary Module to Teach New Intellectual Property Attorneys to Work Across Disciplines

Abstract

More than ever before, law school graduates interested in business law enter a workforce where they must effectively interface with professionals from other disciplines. Yet there are precious few opportunities in law school for students to practice the skills required to perform on an interdisciplinary team. This is especially true regarding mixed teams of law and technical students. This essay explores a model for integrating an interdisciplinary practicum module into a free-standing class. The module challenges teams of law and engineering students to work together to perform a prior art search, interview an inventor, and draft patent claims over a new technology. But beyond developing technical skills, the module also forces to students to think more broadly. Students begin to consider patenting in context, seeing patents as a business tool rather than simply a legal formality. Even more importantly, because the students must handle a difficult assignment with a partner trained in a different discipline, it calls upon them to consider the varied skills and perspectives of each team member and leverage those skills to improve the collaborative work product. The essay first presents an argument for why an interdisciplinary module can be an important pedagogical device. It then explains the module in detail, including changes implemented from lessons learned. The essay then highlights some critical observations about the module’s design that could be helpful when replicating it at another institution. It then concludes with analytical data and remarks collected from past students, in order to measure the module’s effectiveness and relevance to the students’ post-graduation careers.