How hard is it to get a job as a patent lawyer?

It is quite hard to become a patent attorney, but it’s not impossible. You have to be someone who can sit down for long hours to study and prepare for your examinations.

Is patent law a good field?

Careers in patent law offer good — that is, usually interesting and well remunerated — job opportunities. Although becoming an attorney requires additional training, long-term career prospects are often much better than, say, those of becoming a faculty member at a research-intensive institution.

Is the patent bar exam hard?

Despite being an open book exam, the patent bar exam is one of the toughest in the country, with less than 50\% passing since 2013. Many students put in additional hours post-course of study but still feel like they’re ill-prepared and nervous on exam day.

Are patent attorneys smart?

Patent attorneys are extremely intelligent. The ability to get advanced science and engineering degrees is something very few attorneys could do. The ability to get good grades in these disciplines is also something that is extremely difficult to do.

How many people pass patent bar first try?

When our students sit for the Patent Bar Exam, more than 80 percent of them pass. (Over 25-plus years, our pass rate has fluctuated between 80 and 90 percent.) Since most of our students pass on the first try, they earn their way to a lucrative career that much faster.

How do I get a job as a patent attorney?

My suggestion for a great source when looking for jobs is the AIPLA job board listing where you can sign up and receive daily emails of patent professional jobs throughout the world. The term “patent attorney” can mean patent prosecution attorney and/or patent litigation attorney. Both are in demand relative to the rest of the market for attorneys.

Is the patent attorney job market saturated?

Also, a good school and grades is a plus when first entering into the legal profession and for patent attorney’s advanced technical degrees are desired. This answer is purely anecdotal, but here in NY I see many ads for patent attorneys. While the law market in general is saturated, the patent attorney market is not.

What are the disadvantages of being a patent attorney?

One of the problems with this is that the patent attorney is *personally liable* for malpractice. One of the biggest disadvantages of being a patent attorney is that you cannot really help people. This may sound absurd, but it is a strange artifact of the attorney/client relationship.

Are patent attorneys personally liable for malpractice?

A foundation of our legal system is that everybody deserves their day in court, and that means that every crackpot inventor with a perpetual motion machine deserves their day at the Patent Office. One of the problems with this is that the patent attorney is *personally liable* for malpractice.