Introduction: About This Book

• Pages: xxix-xxxiv

xxix

Introduction:

About This Book

If you are fortunate, you work in a bustling legal environment

lled with excellent mentors who are dedicated to developing your

skills in the areas of intellectual property, corporate transactions,

and due diligence. These mentors have many years of experience

dedicated to these elds and spend focused time with each junior

attorney. This environment also has procedures in place to train

their attorneys on critical thinking and issue spotting in transac-

tions. Their database is rich with well-developed checklists used to

help conduct due diligence, memos highlighting key issues to look

for in transactions, and regular meetings to discuss updates in the

case law. Plenty of one-on-one instruction is offered to help junior

attorneys learn how to conduct due diligence andaddress difcult

questions. There are also resources dedicated to teaching project

management, effective communication, and methods to stream-

line transactions.

This book is for the rest of us.

The contributors of this book have a combined total of

hundreds of years’ experience in the eld of intellectual property.

Collectively, they have run individual deals ranging in value from

the tens of thousands to billions of U.S. dollars. They come from

technical backgrounds ranging from electrical and chemical engi-

neering to software development and pharmaceutical technology.

They work in large law rms, small law rms, in house, or as solo

practitioners. Despite these diverse backgrounds, they are united

in one thought: the eld lacks a practical guide on how to train

an attorney on conducting effective, cost-efcient due diligence

in the areas of intellectual property and technology. This book is