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Hello Everyone-

I’m very new to this forum and really hoping for some advice. This is my first post, but I kept it anonymous so that I can post more in the future without revealing my identity. Anyway, I’ll try to keep this as short as I can. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!

My questions: Is it possible to find a part-time (or at least full-time with a pretty flexible schedule) job in patent prosecution strait out of school? Is sending resume/cover-letter to small patent firms the best way to find this type of job? Is there a better way to look for a flexible legal job? If a flexible schedule strait out of school is not possible, would teaching physics as an adjunct for a year or so kill my chances at doing patent prosecution or relate legal work later?

Background: Have a grad degree in physics and some related work experience. Graduated from an “MVPB” tier law school in May of 2013 and passed the July 2013 bar exam. Had pretty good grades, I’d guess top 1/3 or so.

Why I need part-time: I have been devoting quite a bit of time to taking care of an ailing family member for the past year or so and I really want/need to continue to do so. Thus, I could not accept a usual big law job. My spouse makes good money and I don’t have any debt so I don’t need to make a huge amount of money. I just really hope to find a job with a somewhat flexible schedule and I’m happy to sacrifice a large salary. I really enjoyed the courses I took in patent law and patent prosecution, but I suppose I am really just hoping to use my law degree in some way.

Thanks for the input! The career services office at my school is pretty bad because they refuse to give any help in finding a part-time gig, so I really do appreciate any thoughts.

Where do you live now? If around D.C. Metro, you are in luck since there are many small patent law firms there which may need extra hands like you. If not, you have to try harder.

Have you worked as a patent practitioner before and drafted patent applications and/or office action responses? If yes, you will have a better chance to land a job in patent prosecution. If not, it will be very hard to convince an employer that you can handle the patent prosecution-related stuffs.

Good luck.

I'm in the SF bay area. I haven't worked as a patent practitioner before. I took quite a few patent/patent prosecution related classes in law school and did well, but I know this isn't a substitute for experience... Most of my work experience is in the area of physics. I spent law school summers at a DA's office, since I really wanted to get experience in a real courtroom and see whether litigation was for me. Anyway, it sounds like there may not be many opportunities unless I can get more free time... Anyway, thanks for the info!