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Hi everyone. I was an evening law student and graduated from Loyola Law School in 2013, but stayed in my electrical engineering job after graduating because I became severely depressed and burnt out from the whole experience of working full time while going to school and studying for the bar (not passing) - the familiarity of my engineering job seemed like all I could do at the time. The depression lasted for years. It was about a year ago when I finally started to feel like my old self and got my motivation back. I took the Feb-2018 CA bar and am now awaiting results.

My goal is to be a patent attorney. I have a BS in EE and am a registered patent agent, but no patent experience. I've been in my engineering job now for 11 years.

How do I explain the large gap in my resume since graduating law school?

What would I even apply for? Summer associate positions are only for law students and lateral positions seem to all want at least 1 year of experience.

Thanks all.

You should target smaller IP firms. They may be less concerned about your resume gap and probably just need the help. Try to find positions that line up with your technical expertise. Maybe you can also try applying for technical advisor / technical specialist / scientific advisor positions. They usually are people who aren't lawyers but it could be a way to get your foot into the door.

Did you apply any of your legal knowledge to your engineering job? If so, you could say that you went to law school to expand / enhance your knowledge in your current role, but weren't sure whether you really you wanted to be a lawyer until now. If not, perhaps you should start doing that now - are there any quasi-legal positions or roles you can take up at work (e.b., patent liaison who acts as a go-between between legal counsel and engineers)? It'll act as a resume enhancer.