Legal firms specializing in intellectual property areas have attorneys on staff with diverse educations that involve many areas of technology as well as having law degrees. There are also advisors and paid consultants kept on staff who can offer their experience and skills to the legal staff. Many of these advisors have advanced degrees in scientifically technical careers and are well equipped to give valuable advice as contributing members of the legal team.
These consultants work with the attorneys as collaborators to help devise ideas and methods that can guide them through the determination for outlining the best ways to protect the ideas, thoughts, and other creative processes of the firms' clients. With technology developing at such lightning rate, it would be impossible for a single attorney to know all the changes without having an expert team to call upon for support.
Today leading intellectual property firms are looking for top rated attorneys to add to its in-house staff. They look for attorneys who have an educational background and experience that deals with science, technology, software, patents or trademarks. The firm will often have a broad base of clients who may have intellectual property concerns that deal with electronics, logos, engineering plans, banking, software and computer processes or technical writing and designs.
Many of the intellectual property legal positions that are open would require a serious applicant having at least 4 or more years of significant experience in this particular field. If you have some hands on experience in patent counseling, prosecution or litigation this will boost your chances of being considered for many of the open jobs that are presently available. A number of associates, who may not have been the lead attorney, can show the necessary experience, and can apply with other firms.
There are openings in intellectual property law firms for experienced attorneys who are interested in getting in on the ground floor of a business and many of these can be found at IntellectualPropertyCrossing.com. This is a major, online job posting board, which deals with attorney positions in this exciting and challenging field. Browsing this job site will enable lawyers to identify those firms that are presently hiring for these openings.
An undergraduate degree in any field could be considered. Coupled with a law degree, these law firms are interested in applicants who have a degree in science or engineering discipline. Many of the leading candidates for intellectual property positions will have a bachelor's or a master's degree in engineering, chemistry, pharmacy, or computer science.
There are seminars and courses that can be taken to assist attorneys and others in learning about patent and trademark law. Anyone interested in entering the intellectual property field of legal work should take as many courses as possible. To be considered for an intellectual property position, there is a patent bar exam that provides excellent credentials for those who pass the test. This is the first step that candidates should consider applying for, and the earlier in the career process the better. Attorneys who are new graduates immediately apply for work at a patent office, but these positions can be scarce and competition is high.
This exam allows the successful candidates to be qualified as patent agents, which is helpful for anyone looking to position themselves at the forefront of this technologically challenging legal field. The Patent Bar exam is a 6-hour exam and has 100 multiple-choice questions. A candidate must have a score of 70% or better in order to pass. The national rate of success on this test is only about 50% and it is considered as the toughest among all national exams.
Attorneys must be able to guide clients in understanding if their ideas are unique enough to qualify for a patent and this can be a relatively long process involving weeks or months of research or study. If an attorney has some experience and personal expertise in the area of the client's work it will serve them well, if they do not have this experience they will have to rely upon consultants and advisors to help them through this potential legal and technical field.
Attorneys involved in intellectual property law need to be a team player who is capable of being an active contributor to the planning and strategizing process. They will be instrumental in implementing ways to develop and protect many project ideas and applications, and they must be fully prepared to take legal action and prosecute anyone who infringes upon the rights of their clients. There will be a great deal of research and patent searches. These must be conducted on global scales and the work will be ongoing and would not end with the awarding of patents or trademarks.
Attorneys must be diligent in keeping their clients' property secure at all times. Legal firms that want to hire the finest candidates look for legal scholars who have proven track-records, but they also want people who are highly motivated, self-starters. New law graduates take courses that are available to familiarize with many aspects of property and patent law.
New graduates will also search for any opening that might be available with one of the top firms, even if it is for a research assistant. This can provide a way of becoming associated with the intellectual property firm and will give them a chance to refine their legal skills while gaining invaluable exposure and experience in this field. There are different positions and openings advertised at IntellectualPropertyCrossing that can lead you to the firm and intellectual property or patent office job that suits you the best.
- See Top 10 Reasons Most Law Firms Have No Idea How to Hire and Evaluate Patent Attorneys for more information.
