Davé came to the U.S. in 1981, armed with a degree in chemical engineering from IIT-Kharagpur, and a scholarship to a master’s program at Washington State University. It took one phone call from his program director at Washington to secure an admission to a Ph.D. in material science at Washington University at St. Louis. “Everything I did in my Ph.D. was in theoretical modeling and research, except one part, where I had to test my theory in the lab. Not surprisingly, I almost burned down the lab, when I forgot to switch off the heat,” chortles Davé. He went on to join Michigan Molecular Institute, where he helped set up a program in composite science. After three years in academics, which he calls an “interesting experience,” Davé met up with the Monsanto team and was offered a job at Monsanto, in 1989. “The recessions of 1991 came two years later, and I saw over 40 people laid off overnight, from our Springfield facilities,” recalls Davé. “Some of them were in their fifties, and it was scary to see them go, without a future.” It was time to bring out the parachute. “I wanted a career shift, into some field where there was longevity, and security, with the passing years,” says Davé.

There were three possibilities: academia, medicine or law. Academics was too slow and medicine took an inordinately long study period, so law won. While working full time at Monsanto, Davé registered for an evening program in law at the University of Connecticut, even getting his company to pay for his tuition. In 1996, Monsanto sold the business to Bayer, and Davé graduated from law school the same year.

In 1996, he joined Fish and Richardson, a law firm in Washington D.C., and a year later, his senior partner at Fish went to join Morrison and Foerster. Davé was invited to join him, and he did so. And since then he’s been at Morrison and Foerster. So what color is Davé’s parachute? “While at Monsanto, I realized that the scientist could never move into the driver’s seat. The decision to bring a product or patent to market did not rest with him or her, but with the attorney. Today I realize that it’s rightly so,” says the scientist-turned-attorney. While a scientist, Davé was involved only in the immediate present, an attorney’s role opened up the vistas of the future implications. If an invention doesn’t get patented, chances of its continued success in the market is suspect, says Davé, and as time passes, the invention, and thus the inventor fade away in importance. As an attorney today, Davé is on a platform to view the bigger picture. How has his role changed? “As a scientist, I was involved in problem solving, tackling known or recognized issues. As an attorney, my first task is recognizing the problem—issue-spotting, where I need to collect relevent information from a chaotic heap. Problem solving is only secondary,” asserts Davé. “As a patent attorney, I have fully understood the phrase that technology is only a ticket to the game. It is not the game itself.” All this realization also came with a heartening rise in his income: Davé draws thrice the salary amount he used to draw as a scientist.

Davé has also developed a good skill in hypothesizing. This, he says, is very crucial in technology law. “To hypothesize future scenarios and develop suitable alternatives is exciting in itself, and is very important in safeguarding client material,” says Davé. Wasn’t this shift a bit late in his life? “It was,” says Davé, “but I made the move into a field where with the passing of time, the experience gained is very valuable.” Where does he see himself in five years? “Oh! I hope to be made a partner at the firm,” laughs Davé, “but I think I am quite satisfied with what I am doing and where I am.” With IT and high technology showing no sign of drying up, Davé claims that his combined talents will be in fiercer demand, with time. His word of advice? “Study law,” he laughs. “It’ll help you stay on the right side of it.”