Name: Kaveh Khonsari
Legal interests: Intellectual property and patent law.
Bachelor’s degree: B.S. in Psychobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2001.
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Dream job: Patent litigator.
Quote: I haven't met anybody here at USD that is remotely like the lawyers in the "lawyer jokes." I wonder where all the people who are the subject of those jokes went to school?
1) What made you decide to come to USD School of Law?
In addition to the usual reasons of school reputation and financial reasons, I wanted to attend a school that had a beautiful campus and is located in a city with a decently sized legal community I could network in. Also, when I wasn't on campus I wanted to be able to go and out and find interesting and entertaining things to do. USD easily met all of those requirements.
2) During your first week here, what was one of the first things that impressed you?
I've heard numerous horror stories about overly competitive and unfriendly law students. At USD I was pleasantly surprised to find that the competitive nature of law school and law students was tempered by a friendly and helpful environment. That made me feel comfortable here. Just about everybody here tends to be encouraging and promotes the idea that everybody should be treated with respect and assistance should be given when possible. Maybe, the relaxed beach attitude of the city has had an effect on the school. Whatever the cause, I'm glad to part of it.
3) What activities have you been involved in at USD School of Law?
I'm currently president of the Intellectual Property Law Association here on campus. It's a bit of extra work, but I get to meet other students who are interested in the same type of law and I get to arrange and take part in a number of activities with legal professionals who work in intellectual property. Additionally, I was glad to discover that my law school tuition covers classes that are available to undergraduate and graduate programs here at USD. I've gotten to take all the fun classes that I always wanted to take back in college, but never could because I was so focused on getting my degree. In the last two years, I've taken a guitar class and several dance classes. I even joined the school DanceSport team and have taken part in national competitions!
4) How hard is law school? Is it more or less work than you thought?
The first of semester of law school was a bit difficult. Reading cases, engaging in legal analysis and taking practice tests are skills that I didn't learn as an undergraduate—so they took a bit of getting used to. Once I got the hang of things, it got quite a bit easier. I treat school as a full-time job and it becomes rather manageable. Even with classes, homework and studying for tests I still have the time to socialize and engage in non-law related activities.
5) What is the best thing that has happened to you here at law school?
After about two months of spending twenty minutes a day looking for parking, I decided that there had to be a better way. There was no convenient way for me to take public transportation from where I was living off campus so I did something that I've always wanted to do. I learned to ride a motorcycle. Now I never have trouble finding parking wherever I go, and I spend considerably less money on gas. Who would have thought that law school would be the thing that encouraged me to learn to ride?
6) What is some of your previous professional experience? How did that experience help you decide to go to law school?
I've done hematology research for a major biotech company for several years and done television media research for a cable company for a year. Those jobs got me used to doing a bit of reading and writing—great skills to have in law school. Also, from talking to a number of attorneys that I know, I found out that there is increasing demand for intellectual property attorneys who have a background in hard sciences. I found that law school would be a great way to combine something that I've always been interested in with the experience that I already had. As a patent attorney I would be able to learn about new innovations in science while practicing law.
7) What advice would you give to a prospective student? What things might you have done differently?
Keep an open mind about everything. There are a lot of people with pre-conceived ideas about how things can or should be done, but there often a number of options available. Don't be overly influenced by what everybody else is doing, there are plenty of opportunities to live the lifestyle you want and still do the things that you need to do.
