Alvin Carter ’18

Co-op looks nothing like schoolwork, but when you go back to the classroom, you get more out of it because you own the info.

Alvin Carter ’18

Alvin Carter calls himself a “serial entrepreneur.” From starting a clothing line and a website development company to forming his own music production company to founding the Combat Sports Hall of Fame to helping grow the Harvard Hiphop Archive, Alvin can’t stop thinking up new ideas — and as a law student, he did a deep dive into protecting those ideas through intellectual property law.

Through his co-ops, a concentration in IP and Innovation, and participation in the law school’s Community Business Clinic and IP CO-LAB, a clinic that serves entrepreneurs throughout the Northeastern ecosystem, Alvin acquired the legal skills to protect his clients’ creations. “Before law school, I was an entrepreneur always in need of an attorney. Now, I am helping other entrepreneurs distill their ideas and reach their goals,” says Alvin, who accepted a post-graduate offer with the corporate and IP groups at Brown Rudnick in Boston. “Lawyers are also entrepreneurs. We have to innovate, market, sell our services and build our practices. When I am helping clients launch their businesses, it might not be my house, but I definitely enjoy being part of building the foundation.”

Co-op

State Street Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts

Working with the legal procurement and IT groups, Alvin drafted contracts and reviewed licensing agreements. He also created corporation-wide IP training materials, policies and procedures, and researched terms of use for market data providers’ web domains in 14 European, South American and Asian countries.

Activities
  • ABA’s Annual IP Law Conference (reporter and blogger)
  • ABA Judicial Clerkship Program
  • Black Law Student Association
  • Intellectual Property Society
  • Law and Information Society (co-founder)
  • Multicultural Law Student Association (founder)
  • Student Bar Association (vice chair of social activities)
Co-op

Sennott & Williams, Boston, Massachusetts

At a boutique IP firm, Alvin assisted with legal research and memo drafting focused on publishing and dramatic rights, copyright and trademark law. He also joined client meetings, drafted and reviewed publishing and option/purchase (film) agreements as well as assisted in the copyright and trademark filing processes.

Clinics
  • Community Business Clinic
  • IP CO-LAB
Co-op

Brown Rudnick, Boston, Massachusetts

Alvin was a summer associate at an Am Law 200 firm, where he researched trademark actions, conducted patent research and had a hand in winning a pro bono unemployment case.

Co-op

Northeastern University Center for Entrepreneurship Education, Boston, Massachusetts

Building on his participation in the law school’s IP CO-LAB, a clinic that assists student entrepreneurs across the university, Alvin devoted his final co-op to launching new businesses through Northeastern’s IDEA venture accelerator program.

Research Assistant

Alvin researched photography and licenses granted to online stock photo companies.

Moot Court

Alvin served as co-captain for Northeastern’s team at the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition in 2017-2018.

Now

Associate, Brown Rudnick, Boston, Massachusetts

Result

A big firm lawyer with an entrepreneur’s lens on the details.