In this episode of That IP Podcast, host Harry Brooker sits down with Mike Jakes, long-time partner at Finnegan and one of the leading figures in patent litigation and appeals, to walk through a 37-year career that started in engineering and evolved into high-stakes IP work. Mike explains how his early days as an electrical engineer at Westinghouse and night-school computer science degree at Johns Hopkins shaped the way he thinks about technology, how a single lunch with legendary patent lawyer Don Dunner nudged him toward law school at Georgetown, and why clerking for Judge Giles Rich at the Federal Circuit was a defining experience. He reflects on joining Finnegan in 1988 and never leaving, what it was like practicing before email and online research, and how the mechanics of lawyering have changed while the fundamentals of advocacy and judgment have stayed the same. Mike talks about learning from giants of the profession, the value of honest feedback, how to seek and use mentorship, and why good writing and constant reading still sit at the heart of great lawyering. He shares his thoughts on burnout, long-term career sustainability, building habits that actually matter, the realities of winning and losing in court, and even his trial ritual of pizza and My Cousin Vinny. It’s a grounded, thoughtful conversation about building a long career in patents, staying curious, and figuring things out as you go.