view in one page and print
We are pleased to publish interview with Mr. Tejinder Singh, JD, who is a practicing attorney for patent and trade mark protection in California. After obtaining MS (Mechanical Engineering) in 1991 from California State University, he studied law and received Jurist Doctor, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California in 1996
Mr. Singh is an experienced practitioner in the field of Intellectual Property Law and is committed to serve the interests of the Intellectual Property Law community. He is one of the founding partners of Klein, O’Neill & Singh LLP, a law firm with offices in Irvine and San Jose in California.
Yogesh K. Upadhyaya from Chronicle took the opportunity to interview him for his unusual career of an engineer as patent law attorney:
(Tejinder Singh, JD)
To view his profile, please click here Profile of TJ Singh.pdf
Q-1: Welcome, Sir. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
I grew up in Allahabad and did my initial schooling at St. Joseph’s College, Allahabad. I did my under-graduate at IT-BHU. I went to graduate school at California State University, Long Beach and then went to law school at Loyola Marymount. I worked as an Engineer/Program Manager at Parker-Hannifin and at Harman-JBL. I did not have any concrete plans to go to law school, as explained below; it was more of a coincidence.
Q-2: Please tell us about your practice as patent law attorney.
Working as an engineer got a little old and I was looking for alternatives. I ran into a patent attorney at a computer store who offered me a consultant’s position to setup their law firm’s database. Working at this patent law firm was humbling and challenging. I wanted to do something different so I enrolled at Loyola Law School while having a full time engineering job.
Patent law is a unique discipline in the legal profession. It requires technical skills and of course skills that a typical lawyer needs, for example, ability to think on your feet, advocacy and decent writing skills. This appeared to be a reasonable fit for me.
After graduating from Law School, I went and worked in-house for Canon Inc. for a few years, as a patent attorney. That was fantastic experience because I had one client (Canon) and no billing pressure. I worked at their R&D facility and learned a lot about color science and networking. I also learned a lot about standard organizations and their role in Intellectual Property.
I left Canon and worked for two major law firms. One of them was a corporate firm with a strong IP practice. My practice was transactional, mostly, patent prosecution, licensing and litigation support. When the dot.com boom ended, Tech practice got hit and money became tight. A lot of clients wanted better value for their money. I decided to open my own firm with two other attorneys. Scary as it may have been, it was the best decision I ever made.
Being a patent attorney is like being in an eternal graduate school. You are learning something new every day. You need to keep abreast with technology and of course the ever changing landscape of patent law. I guess, this is payback for me because I am not sure how hard I worked at BHU.
Q-3: You are also actively involved in professional law associations.
I am actively involved with the local bar associations because that forces you to get out and learn. I am currently the President of the Orange County Patent Law Association and advisor to the California State Bar IP Section.
There are different facets of patent law practice, e.g. patent prosecution (helping clients get patents), litigation, licensing and due diligence during mergers and acquisitions. Each facet has unique requirements and challenges. The patent prosecution is very collegial and non-adversarial. I like it now, while my kids are young.
Q-4: Your advice to engineers looking to involve in legal field?
Admission requirements are pretty straightforward; good grades and good LSAT scores will open a lot of doors. You have to love reading and writing to enjoy law school. It is expensive though, almost $100,000 for a good law school.
Q-5: Please describe your college days
I will be brief about that because I would not know where to begin and when to stop. Overall, it was great experience; enjoyed all my friends; played a lot of sports and did things that I just can’t put it in print anymore.
Q-6: Please tell us about your personal life
I have my wife, who is also an attorney, a daughter who is 13 and son who is 7. I love to travel but just can’t get out enough. My hobbies are squash, working out, yoga and just enjoying a cup of coffee and watching people.
Sir, it was nice talking to you.
Teji Singh can be contacted at: tjsingh@koslaw.com
______________________________
Education of Tejinder Singh, JD
*B. Tech, Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), Varanasi in 1985
*M. S., Mechanical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach University, California in 1991
* Jurist Doctor, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California in 1996
__________________________________________________________________
Additional Link:
1) Klein, O’Neill & Singh LLP, California
2) Profile of TJ Singh on company website
http://www.koslaw.com/Singh.php
3) Teji Singh as Advisor to 2008-2009 Executive Committee for Intellectual Property Law Section-The State Bar of California
4) The Orange County Patent Law Association (OCPLA), elected Mr. TJ Singh, as President for 2009.
www.ocpla.org
http://www.itbhuglobal.org/chronicle/archives/2009/02/index-alumni-world.php#004055
Excerpts:
“The Orange County Patent Law Association (OCPLA), an organization made up of Intellectual Property lawyers and practitioners from around Orange County and throughout the world has elected Mr. TJ Singh, one of the founding partners of Klein, O’Neill & Singh LLP as President for 2009.”
5) About LSAT Exam (Law School Admission Council)
6) Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California
(Courtesy: http://www.pixelmap.com/dma_gehry_24.html)
______________________________________________________________________________
Leave a comment
(if you having troubles, try posting your comment on this page or send an email to chronicle @ itbhuglobal.org)Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi 221005, UP