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Re: the technical interview questions, how much do they expect you to know about patent prosecution coming into the interview? In other words, do they expect you to know how a claim or other part of a specification is structured? How much do they expect you to know in patent lit?

If they ask a technical engineering question that you just don’t know, what is the best course of action?

I’m more interested in lit anyway but I don’t want to totally ignore pros, and I’m nervous that it’s been a while since I’ve exercised some of my engineering skills.

They don't usually ask technical questions about random things. Rather, they will probably ask you about the technical details of things in your resume. For example, "I see that you wrote a paper about X. Can you explain it to me?" So make sure you can speak confidently and accurately about everything in your resume. If they do ask you a technical question you don't immediately know the answer to, admit that you don't know, but talk the question through and see what inferences you can make. They are interested in your thought process and your analytical skills. Even if you get it wrong, demonstrating your reasoning and problem solving skills is better than shrugging your shoulders and saying "I don't know."

They won't usually ask you any questions about patent prosecution or patent law, unless you have that kind of prior experience. Interviewers assume you know next to nothing about the law. Sometimes they may ask how much you know about patent law - they are getting at your interest in patent law and not about your actual knowledge. I advise you to do a lot of research about the profession and the practice so that you sound informed and thoughtful about your career choice.

Aside from that, patent prosecution interviews are similar to any other type of interview. They will ask you questions about your background and experience, ask why patent law and why this firm, ask you about your interests, etc.

jhett wrote:They don't usually ask technical questions about random things.

I had exactly that happen in a 1L interview. The interviewer got out a sheet of paper and played a few rounds of "identify the circuit" with me.