[blakesq]

Hi all,

My wife and I live in NEW England, and are thinking about moving to a sunny state with no income tax, and we are thinking of the St. Augustine Area. I have a small law practice that I would move (patents, trademarks and copyrights). Any thoughts on whether I could make a go of it? My wife works at a local University as a community outreach coordinator, any colleges/university in the St. Augustine area? Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice! Oh, and we are avid tennis players, so living in FL should save us a lot of $$$ when it comes to indoor court fees (like never playing indoors again!!!).

Blakesq

[DailyJournalist]

The St. Augustine/Jacksonville area would be a good location for your law practice. The area has also many colleges where your wife could find employment. Flagler College and University of North Florida come to mind.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by blakesq

Hi all,

My wife and I live in NEW England, and are thinking about moving to a sunny state with no income tax, and we are thinking of the St. Augustine Area. I have a small law practice that I would move (patents, trademarks and copyrights). Any thoughts on whether I could make a go of it? My wife works at a local University as a community outreach coordinator, any colleges/university in the St. Augustine area? Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice! Oh, and we are avid tennis players, so living in FL should save us a lot of $$$ when it comes to indoor court fees (like never playing indoors again!!!).

Blakesq

Good luck with the Florida Bar exam. Thank God I won't ever have to take it again.

St. Augustine is a nice are with the two larger colleges mentioned and I think quite a few smaller schools too. Not sure how the market would be for IP law though.

[WellShoneMoon]

I assume you're aware you'll have to pass the Florida Bar exam in order to practice in FL? Florida doesn't have reciprocity with other states, and the Florida Bar is not happy with unlicensed people practicing law here.

In addition, your wife should contact colleges in the area you're interested in, and find out how likely it is that she can find a job. It looks to me as though it's becoming more and more difficult to find a job in any of the state's colleges and universities. Some have imposed hiring freezes.

[blakesq]

Luckily, I am a patent attorney, so I can practice patent law anywhere in the US (and arguably Trademark law too) w ithout having to take another state bar. The tricky part comes in when I want to do things outside of the IP arena, like reviewing and drafting contracts. Thus, for those reasons I plan on taking the FL bar.

Originally Posted by weindell

I assume you're aware you'll have to pass the Florida Bar exam in order to practice in FL? Florida doesn't have reciprocity with other states, and the Florida Bar is not happy with unlicensed people practicing law here.

In addition, your wife should contact colleges in the area you're interested in, and find out how likely it is that she can find a job. It looks to me as though it's becoming more and more difficult to find a job in any of the state's colleges and universities. Some have imposed hiring freezes.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by blakesq

Luckily, I am a patent attorney, so I can practice patent law anywhere in the US (and arguably Trademark law too) w ithout having to take another state bar. The tricky part comes in when I want to do things outside of the IP arena, like reviewing and drafting contracts. Thus, for those reasons I plan on taking the FL bar.

It's not too bad, especially if you're already practicing law.

Just take a Bar/Bri class and you'll do fine.

The worst part about studying for the bar was listening to everyone else freak out about it and talk about how many practice questions/study programs they were doing.

[lokahi]

I would look at the Florida Bar website to see how many other firms / lawyers are out there with IP experience. Also, look at their publication called "The Florida Bar News". And, check out the Jacksonville Bar Association's website along with the Jacksonville Daily News and Financial Record.

I would say that as a whole Jax is more litigation oriented, with most of the emphasis on personal injury and insurance defense. There aren't too many small firms doing IP, as it's mostly handled by larger firms like Rogers Towers, etc.

I would imagine that South FL would have more need for IP lawyers, but you never know...

[blakesq]

Thanks. ONe thing I did look at was the number of patent attorneys in FL vs. the Number in my State, and figured out the ratio of the state population to patent attorney. IN florida, there are just over 22,000 people per patent attorney. IN my state in New England, there are just under 5000 people per patent attorney. Seems like a good ratio to move to!

Originally Posted by lokahi

I would look at the Florida Bar website to see how many other firms / lawyers are out there with IP experience. Also, look at their publication called "The Florida Bar News". And, check out the Jacksonville Bar Association's website along with the Jacksonville Daily News and Financial Record.

I would say that as a whole Jax is more litigation oriented, with most of the emphasis on personal injury and insurance defense. There aren't too many small firms doing IP, as it's mostly handled by larger firms like Rogers Towers, etc.

I would imagine that South FL would have more need for IP lawyers, but you never know...

[Strel]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

It's not too bad, especially if you're already practicing law.

Just take a Bar/Bri class and you'll do fine.

The worst part about studying for the bar was listening to everyone else freak out about it and talk about how many practice questions/study programs they were doing.

Indeed, whatever you do, don't listen to the other people freaking out during the exam.

My law clerk is taking it at the end of this month. I told him not to talk or listen to anyone else taking the test if he wants to keep his sanity.

My method was to take it hung over and pissed off, and it worked great!

[blakesq]

Well we just had our first baby at the end of 2009. Now we are gearing up again to move to the JAX area, probably near Ponte Vedra. Any other input about moving an Intellectual property Law practice to the area? Thanks!