David Gross Interviewed for Law360's Rainmaker Q&A Series

David Gross, head of the intellectual property litigation practice at Faegre Baker Daniels, recently discussed his distinguished career as a trial lawyer law in the Law360 series, "Rainmaker Q&A."

When asked what advice he'd give to an aspiring rainmaker, Gross, who will soon split his time between Minneapolis and the firm's new Silicon Valley office told Law360, "Before you worry about going out to lunch with potential clients or otherwise becoming their buddy, make sure you are a really good lawyer with an impressive track record. I often worry that younger lawyers think it's all about building relationships instead of FIRST becoming a really good lawyer, and THEN building relationships. And if you choose to speak on a topic, make sure your presentation is the best presentation you have ever given in your entire career. People notice when you stand out."

Gross also told a story about the unexpected landing of a big client and how in the legal industry, anything can happen. Gross said, "I can't name the company, but I will always remember flying to a company's headquarters and giving a two-hour pitch for a big intellectual property case in which we were competing against six other national firms. I did a horrible job at the pitch — nothing seemed to be working for me that day. At the airport, I told my two other partners that we were no longer going to waste time on these big pitches in which we were competing against five or more law firms. Of course, we were hired three days later, and since then I have never complained about a pitch. You just never know what's going to happen, so go full speed and hope for the best!"