Become an Intellectual Property Attorney

An intellectual property lawyer can specialize in patents, trademarks, copyrights, or all of the above. Patent attorneys work with inventors to file and license patents, and also litigate patent infringement suits. Trademark attorneys advise and assist business owners in registering trademarks and litigate trademark infringement suits. Copyright attorneys assist a wide variety of artists and entertainment executives in the registration and licensing of their copyrighted material, as well as litigating copyright infringement suits.

Steps

Preparing for Law School

1. Obtain an undergraduate degree in any major. Law schools don’t require any specific major, or a “pre-law” designation. However, if you already know you want to specialize in intellectual property, become educated in the field or industry in which you want to protect intellectual property rights.
   • If you want to be a patent lawyer, you should get your degree in a science or engineering field. If you don’t major in one of those disciplines, you must show adequate scientific training to take the patent licensing exam, or 30 to 40 hours of college coursework in specific scientific disciplines.
   • If you want to be a copyright lawyer, you might consider what sort of clients you want to represent and take undergraduate coursework in that subject. For example, if you want to work with publishers and authors, you might take English or creative writing classes. This will give you familiarity with the publishing process and concerns of authors.
   • If you want to work in the music industry, consider taking some music or entertainment business courses.
   • If you want to work in trademarks, a business degree can be helpful. Your clients will primarily be small business owners, and studying business will give you a better understanding of how trademarks fit into their business plans and help their businesses grow.
2. Keep your grades up, especially in your major. Law school admission is competitive, and without a high overall GPA you’ll have difficulty getting accepted by the better schools.
   • When you apply for the patent bar, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will only consider coursework in which you earned a C or better in determining whether you have the scientific training necessary to qualify to take the patent bar exam.
3. Participate in extra-curricular activities. Debate and student government are standard choices for pre-law students, but aim for activities that reflect your interests. Your involvement will demonstrate your passion, commitment and leadership.
   • A law school admissions committee would rather see applicants who were deeply involved in one or two activities than someone who signed up for a dozen different groups but never participated in them significantly.
   • For example, if you are interested in patents, you may want to join an engineering, invention or patent club offered by your school. If you're interested in copyright, you might consider working for your school's newspaper or literary magazine.
4. Work off-campus. Your law school applications will look more well-rounded if you have some real-world work experience or volunteer work outside of school.
   • Working in a law firm can help you decide if you really want to pursue that career, before you invest significant time and money in law school. Many law firms hire undergraduate students to work as clerks or receptionists.
   • If you’re interested in patent law, consider working with an engineering or construction firm.
5. Prepare for the Law School Admission Test. Law schools require applicants to take the LSAT, which measures reading and verbal reasoning skills necessary for the study of law. The test consists of five sections of multiple-choice questions and one written essay response section. You’ll be given 35 minutes to complete each section.
   • The test includes three types of multiple-choice questions, which measure reading comprehension, analytical reasoning and logical reasoning.
   • Research schools you’re interested in attending and find out what the average GPAs and LSAT scores of their entering classes are. This will help you decide your target LSAT score.
   • Take practice LSATs. You may choose to take a prep course or study on your own. If you study on your own, try to replicate test conditions, including time constraints, as closely as possible.
   • Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and plan additional study accordingly. For example, if the logical reasoning sections are your downfall, you might benefit from logic games and puzzles.
6. Take the LSAT. The Law School Admissions Council offers the test several times a year in locations all over the country, and it can be taken more than once. However, each time you take the test, you’ll have to pay fees totaling more than $200.
   • When you register for the LSAT, you’ll also register for the LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service. You’ll send your transcripts and recommendations to the LSAC and they’ll compile them along with your LSAT scores and submit the whole package to the law schools you request.
7. Apply to law schools. You probably want to apply to several schools to increase your odds of admission. If possible, visit law schools before you apply.
   • There are many factors that go into choosing a law school beyond grades and LSAT scores. Check out the location and cost of living, and read statements online from present or former students about the school. This will help you decide if it’s a place you’d be happy spending the next three years.
   • If you go to an accredited law school, you can work as an attorney anywhere in the country. However, most law graduates find jobs in the same state or region as their law school -- so make sure the school is located in an area you’d like to work after graduation.
   • If you want to specialize in intellectual property, look for schools that have multiple advanced courses, clinics or other programs in that subject. If you want to be a patent attorney, for example, you’re not going to get much out of a law school that only offers one or two general patent courses and has no clubs or clinics where you can get hands-on experience.

Getting a Law Degree

1. Take foundational courses in your first year. Law students typically have little to no control over the classes they take, or their general class schedule, during their first year.
   • During your first year, you’ll take courses such as contracts, legal writing, civil procedure and torts. These courses not only provide a foundation for understanding other courses, but are tested on the bar exam.
   • First year classes also teach you how to read case law and analyze legal issues. In your next two years of law school, these critical thinking skills will enable you to understand more complex legal topics.
2. Take the patent bar the summer after your first year. Most law school students who are interested in becoming patent attorneys use the summer after their first year of law school to study for and take the patent bar.
   • The USPTO is more concerned with your science or engineering knowledge than your legal knowledge. Taking the patent bar as soon as possible means that coursework is fresher in your mind.
   • Taking the patent bar early also gives you an advantage over others who don’t, because you’ll be able to work as a summer associate with a patent law firm the summer after your second year.
   • The computer-based exam is offered at locations nationwide nearly every day of the week. It consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, of which 90 are scored. To pass the exam, you must provide correct answers to at least 70 percent of the questions.
   • You will pay fees of more than $300 total to take the exam.
3. Apply for a law journal. After your first year of law school, you’ll have the opportunity to join the staff of a law journal if you’ve earned grades above a certain average.
   • If your school has a journal specializing in intellectual property, you may want to try to get on its staff.
   • Experience on any law journal makes you a more attractive candidate after graduation, when you start looking for a job as an attorney.
   • Writing a student article for the journal, usually called a “Note,” gives you the opportunity to research and demonstrate your expertise in the intellectual property area where you want to practice.
4. Take specialty courses your second and third years. In addition to any subjects you think you’ll need to pass the bar exam, take courses on intellectual property law in your second and third years.
   • You should also take related courses. For example, if you want to go into copyright law, take any courses offered in publishing, music or entertainment law. If you want to be a patent attorney, consider taking construction or technology law classes.
   • Since all intellectual property law involves licensing contracts, take any commercial contracts courses offered.
5. Apply for intellectual property law clinics. If your school has any clinics that entail working with intellectual property, you can get valuable hands-on experience as well as additional credit towards your law degree.
6. Get outside work experience. The summer after your second year, find a position as a summer associate at a law firm that deals with the type of intellectual property law you want to practice when you graduate.
   • Not only do you get ground-floor experience in your chosen specialty, you also have the opportunity to network with and learn from attorneys who are established in the field.
   • If you want to be a copyright attorney, you might also consider volunteering for a nonprofit service that provides free legal services for filmmakers, musicians and other performing artists. Such an experience not only allows you to network with established attorneys, but gives you a better understanding of the issues facing working artists.

Becoming a Licensed Attorney

1. Take the professional responsibility exam. Most attorneys must take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, a national test with multiple-choice questions on legal ethics.
   • The MPRE is required to be admitted to practice in every U.S. jurisdiction except Maryland, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.
   • Since each jurisdiction sets its own passing score, you should check with the bar association of the state where you plan to take the bar exam.
   • The test is offered three times per year and may be taken in the state where your law school is located, even if you’re planning on practicing in a different state. Most law students take it some time during their third year.
2. Apply to take the bar exam. The application requirements and subjects on the bar exam vary among states. Check with the National Conference of Bar Examiners to find the specific information for the state you plan to practice.
   • Bar exams are offered in July and February. Most law students apply to take the July exam the summer after they graduate from law school.
   • To complete the application, you’ll have to supply extensive background information, including your addresses over the past 10 years, your work history, school history, credit history and names and addresses of personal references.
   • Many jurisdictions also require a personal interview before you’re approved to take the bar exam to be admitted to practice.
3. Pass your state bar exam. Most bar exams include multiple-choice questions and essay questions, taken over the course of two or three days under strict testing conditions.
   • In addition to the subjects you covered in your first year of law school, state bar exams often include questions on criminal law, family law and commercial transactions.
   • If you fail the bar exam the first time, you can take it again in February, or the next year. You may want to consider signing up for a bar review study course.

Finding Your First Job

1. Be willing to go where the jobs are. If your work as a summer associate didn't land you an offer after graduation, it's not too late to find something in your chosen specialty -- but you have to be flexible.
   • While it may be easier to decide where to take the bar exam after you have a job, this may not be an option if you graduate without an offer. If that's the case, recognize that some states may be hotter for intellectual property than others.
   • For example, if you have a bachelor's degree in computer science and are interested in working with technology patents, there are probably more opportunities for you in California. However, if you want to work with the publishing industry, you may do better in New York.
2. Have a professional résumé that emphasizes your expertise and experience in intellectual property. If you want to stand out as a specialist, focus as much of your resumé as you can toward the area of law you want to practice.
   • For example, if you want to practice copyright law, your resumé might emphasize that your law review Note was about copyright law and you got the highest grade in your copyright law class.
3. Seek out informational interviews. Even attorneys who don't have any open positions at their firm may be willing to sit down and talk with you about your strategy and help you understand a little more about the job market in the area.
   • Try to get connections from your informational interviews. For example, suppose you have an informational interview with Ian Potter, a well-known patent attorney in your area. Although he has no openings in his firm, he has a buddy who he thinks might. When you send your resumé, having "Ian Potter recommended I contact you" as the first line of your cover letter might send your resumé to the top of the pile.
4. Volunteer with nonprofit organizations. Nonprofits such as Lawyers for the Arts present a great opportunity for you to network with practicing attorneys as well as demonstrate your skills and expertise.
5. Join professional intellectual property groups. Once you've joined your state bar, sign up for the intellectual property group.
   • There may be additional dues for this, but they will have discussion groups, programs and mixers that you can take advantage of to meet other attorneys in the industry.
   • In addition to your local or state bar groups, consider joining national groups such as the American Intellectual Property Law Association. These groups have their own events, as well as job boards and other services for members.
6. Become a patent examiner. If you don't want to go directly into private practice, consider applying with the USPTO to become a patent examiner.
   • The process isn't fast. You'll probably have at least one interview, and it can take as long as 10 weeks from the time you apply to be notified if your application was accepted or rejected.
   • If you are extended an offer, you must first complete a 12-month training program at the USPTO Patent Training Academy.
7. Consider working in the trademark office. The U.S. Trademark Office employs approximately 400 attorneys who practice trademark law exclusively.
   • States have their own trademark laws, and may have state government positions in trademark law as well.
   • Trademark attorneys might also find work in general transactional firms that help people start up and operate small businesses.

References

See also

• Be a Good Defense Attorney
• Become a Mediator in New York
• Become a Divorce Mediator
• Become a Great Litigation Support Director
• Become a Patent Examiner
• Become a Legal Secretary
• Prepare for Private Detective Training
• Find the Best Training Institutes That Offer HR Courses in Abu Dhabi
• Become an Arizona Process Server
• Become a Partner in a Law Firm

Read more ...

What links here

• Become a Licensed New York State Security Guard
• Become a US Marshal
• Become an Attorney in Texas