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Puruda Kothari, ’18, had long been intrigued by the idea of working in the field of intellectual property law, and although she aspired to work in this area, she never considered it to be a potential part of her future. Her career path demonstrates Kothari was mistaken.

Kothari’s first job after law school was working as a contractor for YouTube (Google) in the copyright compliance division, where she reviewed complaints about accounts to determine if YouTube’s copyright policies had been violated. If she found violations, she next took the needed measures to ensure the users were in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. “This work made me realize that I want to work in Intellectual Property Law, as well as proved to be a great foundation to build my IP law experience upon,” she said.

After realizing copyright and trademark law were her calling, Kothari began to look for roles that would expand the work she did for YouTube. “I was also looking for a culture that fostered growth,” she said. “I found this at Twitter and after several applications I was provided an opportunity to initially join as a contractor and later was moved to a full-time role within the company.”

The reason Kothari didn’t believe a career in IP or tech is attributable to a false perception. She believed patent law to be the most important part of IP law and that she would need a background in science to take the patent bar. She’s found the opposite is true. The areas of copyright law and trademark law offer many opportunities on their own, she said.

“My favorite part about working in this area is the satisfaction of being able to prevent, up to some level, the online abuse of someone else's work, brand, or product,” Kothari said. “I like learning and working at Twitter because it is such a wide platform with a huge multinational approach, hence, I get to learn how different fields of American IP law operate on a world level.”

Kothari completed her undergraduate studies at the International Academy of Design in Florida after beginning them at the school’s Toronto campus. She completed her graduate studies at Michigan State University and started thinking about attending law school. Her father is an attorney in India and began doing pro bono work after working in the banking industry. She often accompanied him to court when she would visit him in India. “This made me realize the grave importance of the field of law on a very personal level,” Kothari said. The importance of legal knowledge also proved itself when she was working on fundraising projects while doing her graduate studies.

She initially applied to several law schools in California, where Kothari is from, and by coincidence learned about IU McKinney. “The more I read about the subjects it offered, the support of the alumni network, and the abundant opportunities it provided to gain practical experience, the more I wanted to go there,” she said. Another factor in her decision to attend IU McKinney was the amount of pro bono work students may do if they choose. Kothari received the John Paul Berlon award, presented to the student who completes the most pro bono service during their law school career. “It was surely the highlight of my law school journey,” she said.

To cultivate a career in tech or IP, Kothari has a bit of advice for IU McKinney students: Keep exploring, reach out to the law school’s helpful alumni network for guidance, and look for contract opportunities. “Big companies are sometimes not too keen to offer full-time positions but are more than happy to offer contracting roles (directly or via outside contracting companies) which are often a great way to get your foot through the door, prove yourself, build internal connections and finally move to a full-time role of your desired choice,” she said. “And lastly, don't be shy about applying to JD-advantage roles to begin with.”