How difficult is it to break into patent law? Forum
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Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
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will81999
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2020 2:04 am
How difficult is it to break into patent law?
Most jobs are for experienced patent attorneys. How hard is it to get a job after law school or a summer associate position/internship in patent law, being from a mediocre law school with mediocre grades, but the right background? Especially at a small boutique firm.
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SFSpartan
- Posts: 686
- Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:01 pm
Re: How difficult is it to break into patent law?
Do you have a bachelor's in a technical field that will allow you to take the patent bar? If not, I'd give up this idea - even if you can fulfill the alternate education reqs. to become patent bar eligible, patent boutiques prefer folks with advanced technical degrees (MS or PhD).
Short answer - the better your non-law credentials are, the easier it will be.
Short answer - the better your non-law credentials are, the easier it will be.
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Anonymous User
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Re: How difficult is it to break into patent law?
Patent litigation isn't too hard to break into. It's an in-demand area, and if you're patent bar eligible you should be able to get your foot in the door somewhere. I only have a BS in a life sciences specialty (think genetics, microbiology, etc) and I passed the patent bar as a 3L. I'm now working as a patent litigator for one of the top firms in the country for patent lit. Most people in my group have at least a BS in a technical field. A small handful don't have science degrees but got a lot of patent experience in law school.
Patent prosecution is much, much harder. You will almost certainly need an advanced degree to break into patent prosecution.
Patent prosecution is much, much harder. You will almost certainly need an advanced degree to break into patent prosecution.
