This article contains PDO’s feature of Sean Ricks, who got an in-house counsel job at Vivint after graduating from the S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2011.
1.) What do you do?
I am an Associate General Counsel for Vivint, and manage the intellectual property for the company.
2.) Where are you from and why did you go to law school?
I’m originally from Idaho Falls, ID. I decided to go to law school because I wanted to do patent law. My Dad owns patents and I was always intrigued that an individual could have ownership over an idea.
3.) What kinds of activities did you do in law school?
I was involved in SIPLA (Secretary) and Moot Court. I took every intellectual property class available. The classes I found to be the most helpful were Anti-Trust & Con-Law.
4.) How did you first make contact with your employer and how did you get this job?
I had previously worked for Vivint for 5 years prior to law school, in a different capacity. When I was in my first year of law school, I approached the company to see if they’d be interested in hiring a law clerk. They’d never hired a clerk in their legal department, possibly because they’d never been approached. However, they hired me, and this opportunity eventually led to a post-graduate position as an in-house counsel.
5.) What does a typical day involve for you/your work?
Every day is really different. Vivint is a large company, and I get to work on a lot of different things, not just IP work. I research and write demand letters; review contracts and conduct other transactional work. I also work on a variety of misc. projects as needed.
6.) Best (& worst, if you want) parts of the job?
The cafeteria is great!
7.) What tips/advice do you have for jobseeking SJ Quinney students?
Take as many classes as possible, and take at least a few each year with adjunct professors. Many of my professors offered to serve as resources to those of us who are practicing, which I found to be very helpful.