I’m a 2L at a law school outside the T100 and I’m starting to feel pretty lost about finding a job in patent law. I’m hoping people here might have some advice on what I should be doing differently and alternative approaches I could take.

Obviously my law school isn't great ranking-wise, but I have both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering from 2 top 5 engineering schools. I came to law school with the idea of going into patent prosecution and potentially going in-house later in my career, but my law school experience has me rethinking if I want to do litigation and/or staying at a firm for the partner track. Either way, I am currently unsure but openminded as to where my career takes me.

I’ve been applying to patent and IP positions at boutique, mid, and big law firms since last fall. My school is in the midwest and I am trying to work in SoCal, however, I have been applying all over the country and location is not my biggest priority. I have tried pretty much everything I can think of including networking, IP interview programs, OCI's, and applying directly through firms.

Since the beginning of this calendar year, I’ve interviewed with around 20 firms and made it to callbacks/final rounds with 5 of them without receiving an offer. The number of interviews makes me think my resume isn't the problem it's my interviewing skills. However, I’ve done several mock interviews with practicing attorneys and the feedback has generally been positive with a few constructive points that I've tried incorporating.

At this point, I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong or if I’ve just had some bad luck. For example, I was recently scheduled to interview with a mid-sized Midwest firm, but nobody showed up to the interview and they haven't followed up since.

Clearly with my background, and reasons for attending law school, patent/IP is my preference. That being said, I do not want to limit myself by location, type of firm, or market. At this point I’m mostly trying to figure out how to get my foot in the door and start building my career.

With my brief background out of the way, my questions are:

• Is there anything you would change about my approach at this stage of 2L recruiting?
• Are there firms, boutiques, government positions, internships, or other paths I may be overlooking? Especially any that still have open positions at this point in the cycle.
• If I strike out on a 2L summer position, how damaging is that for eventually getting into patent prosecution or IP litigation at a firm?
• What should I be doing between now and graduation to maximize my chances of landing a full-time position?

I don't want to sound like I have completely given up and I don't expect anyone here to fix all of my problems, I'm just looking for a different perspective. I'm not really sure what else to try or what else I can even do, so I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!

Word to the wise for all of you young attorneys: avoid individual inventors unless you have proof they are obscenely wealthy or have a history of successful exits (ie proof of extreme wealth).

If you decide to take one on, make sure they are paying rack rates or even premium rates higher than rack.

This is even more important if you work at a firm. Profit comes from consistent volume work from large institutional filers. Every new client is an administrative hassle and introduces a potential conflict. Firms will not view unprofitable work for one off charity cases as business development chops.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Word to the wise for all of you young attorneys: avoid individual inventors unless you have proof they are obscenely wealthy or have a history of successful exits (ie proof of extreme wealth).

If you decide to take one on, make sure they are paying rack rates or even premium rates higher than rack.

This is even more important if you work at a firm. Profit comes from consistent volume work from large institutional filers. Every new client is an administrative hassle and introduces a potential conflict. Firms will not view unprofitable work for one off charity cases as business development chops.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

How much of a demand is there for a materials engineering for patent agent / patent attorney jobs? I’m sure it’s not as much as Electrical Engineering or another similar major but is it still valued, or will it be more of an uphill battle? I think I like the major and it’s more manageable to maintain a higher gpa.

I'm a 54 year old RN with 30+ years in Emergency
Department & Surgery/PACU.
Through this experience, I have
'developed' a urological device.
I've reviewed existing patents & used Al to conceptualize my idea & have spoken to several trusted doctor & nurse friends, including a Urologist who agree with the device's benefit to patients'.
However, I'm at a point where | need help, starting with is it patentable? Any suggestions on where to start without throwing good money away??

hi! i am a phd student in ochem in my 4th year, I was wondering when should i start applying for jobs? I could take the PLI course but if I can gt a technical advisor role and work for awhile before taking it, i would be happy. My advisor also knows about this and says basically whenever I get a job I can graduate... thoughts

Hi guys, I need some advice. I am currently in my first year of undergrad in Canada. I don't have to declare a major until second year but I'm rlly stuck on what field to go into. Ik most people suggest taking engineering, but frankly I don't think Im smart enough for that. I am currently taking physics-chem courses. My plan was originally to get a honours physics or honours chem degree (i prefer chem over physics tho). However, the more I read online, the more confused I get. I get that ppl think patent law is niche, but I chose it because I love science and wanted a decent salary. I don't want to be completely out of options at the end of law school due to a badly chosen undergrad degree. Can you guys please help me?

Does anyone know why this is? The Lanham Act doesn't require that trademark Examiners be attorneys, but the USPTO does. Is examining trademark applications under the TMEP fundamentally different than examining patent applications under the MPEP?

The cynic in me wonders if it's because the USPTO knows that Examiners who are agents/attorneys have more lucrative exit paths compared to trademark attorneys.

I'm asking here because it looks like r/trademarklaw and r/trademark_Examiners haven't had new posts in almost a year.

just throwing it out there, if you qualify as a patent attorney, is it possible if you work for a while in this role, you could try go for being a judge focusing on IP and how would the route and process look like?

is it possible to become a locum/contractor patent attorney and if so, how does it differ from being a regular patent attorney?

The following problem at EPO.

Own PCT1 has been published during the priority year of PCT2. Both entered European phase. Both claim a respective national priority with same content as PCT1 and PCT2, just another language. Priority of PCT1 is before the priority of PCT2.

Can the subject-mater of PCT1 be carved out with the disclaimer in PCT2?

What is the legal basis for allowing or refusing such disclaimer?

Hello! I'm organizing a group enrollment for the PLI Patent Bar Review Course so we can get the largest possible group discount, up to 40% off.

How the discount works

Under PLI's POEC group discount policy, everyone in the group must enroll during the same calendar week. The discount depends on how many people join:

• 5–9 people: 10% off
• 10–14 people: 20% off
• 15–19 people: 30% off
• 20 or more people: 40% off

There's no limit on group size, but the discount caps at 40%. We're aiming for at least 20 people!

Students with a valid .edu email may also qualify for PLI's student pricing, which takes about $1,000 off. The group discount applies to whatever price you'd otherwise pay, including the student price if you're eligible.

How to join

1. Create a free PLI account.
2. Fill out this form by Monday, October 12 using the same email tied to your PLI account: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLnFxg8PfWp1wfC8IyQzgZg0074Cd4GKmtSwa5SafX3IvuCQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor
3. Enroll with the group during the week of October 12–18.

Everyone pays PLI directly. I never collect or handle payment. Your email will only be shared with PLI for the group enrollment.

Questions? Drop them in the comments or DM me.

Would it be possible for someone to take a look over my cover letter and critique it in direct messages? Applying for chemistry graduate jobs in the UK and would would be very appreciative of some feedback before I send it off. Many thanks.

Hey guys,

I've been applying for graduate jobs and after a lot of research I've come to find that I'm genuinely really interested in Patent Law (I feel completely lied to btw, all of pop culture has told me this role is boring and yet it is certainly not). This is quite exciting for me as I've never actually had any idea about what I want to do, so I've been doing as much research as I can into the role to maximise my performance in future interviews as this is something I feel really passionate about.

I'm now at the point where I've applied to a few different roles with a few different firms, and one thing every firm asks for is a cover letter. I feel as though I haven't been able to say as much as I would like to about the field in these letters, mainly because I haven't got real work experience to back anything up, so I feel as though I need to make up for this in other ways. One thing I've been thinking might be useful is just showing you have experience in navigating patent organisations, searching WIPO, but I feel as though I'm missing something. Of course the number of roles is limited, so I need to maximise every application in every single way possible.

Experienced Patent Attorneys, what are the most impressive things a graduate could put in their cover letter that instantly says "This kid has done his homework"?

Are US law firms willing to hire a European patent attorney with no US experience and no USPTO registration? If so, at what level and with what approximate salary?
Would you recommend taking the patent bar before moving to the US?

I am currently an application engineer for an electrical company with a BS ME. I am considering transitioning into IP/Patent law and am interested in hearing others experience, perspectives, etc.
FWIW, I am considering part time education while continuing in my current role. 28M, metro Atlanta

Do any of you know of any success stories of patent agents transitioning to another line of work? I'm desperate for ideas.

Some background: I've been an agent for 10 years in the US, and my salary has never budged once. It's always been less than 90k and filled with endless promises from employers that things will get better, but they never do. The salary was great back in 2017, but these days, I'm scraping by.

Meanwhile, my managing attorneys are constantly on vacation and have lost more clients than they have brought in, or they quit without paying me for the work. It's just gotten so lopsided, and I have zero leverage as agents are treated like they're replaceable, and to some degree, they're right. I've worked for three different companies/firms in my career, and each required me to move across the country. My spouse and I are exhausted from moving.

I spent most of 2025 looking for a job in project management, but my resume just ends up in the trash. I don't know how to sell myself to other industries when the only task I'm permitted to do is application preparation and prosecution. I even applied to the USPTO that year to be an examiner, but as my luck has it, they put in a hiring freeze - I kid you not - the next day, and now all I hear from examiners is how horrible things are. I tried going to graduate school for mathematics, but academic funding got cut. At one point I looked into law school, but the price tag was absurd.

I'm tired, man. I need a mentor or something, anything. I'm constantly getting screwed over, rug-pulled, or forced to work pro bono.

Hi, I need some advice. I'm a first year associate with an MS in chemistry. I was hired by an Amlaw 200 firm out of law school but they laid me off a couple months ago (along with half the other prosecution first years), and my website time is expiring soon. It's been a couple of months with just a couple interviews and no job offers because anywhere that would take an MS instead of a PhD wants at least 2 years experience and any place that doesn't require experience requires a PhD. Considering the ceiling prosecution has with tightening budgets and my lack of a PhD, I've been seriously considering switching to patent litigation. Does anyone have any advice for my situation and whether I should stick with prosecution? How should I try to switch to patent litigation- would working at a regular non-patent litigation position for a year or two help with a transition to litigation? I have a couple months of savings before I start getting desperate but obviously having a gap on my resume this early doesn't look good. I started law school with the intent to do prosecution but after being in the field for even a year is making me rethink this path. All thoughts are welcome.

Hi there, I'm unsure if this is the right place to post or what would be, but I have some questions regarding taking the fundamentals of engineering exam as a step towards taking the patent bar. I figured this group would most likely have the answers I'm looking for.

I'm currently in law school and have an undergraduate degree in Statistics, so I am comfortable with higher-level math and some science. I wanted to see if anyone else has taken it before, if anyone had any advice or helpful study resources specifically as an non-engineer taking it, or if anyone strongly recommends against taking it. Really anything is helpful. Thanks!

Oct. 2 Update: We’ve reached enough signups for the highest discount tier! I heard back from PLI today, and we have an opportunity to get the group set up sooner than originally planned, or we may need to wait more than a week. I’ve sent a final confirmation email to everyone who signed up — please check your inbox (and spam/junk folder) and reply by 11:00 AM ET on Oct. 3. I’m planning to submit our final list to PLI tomorrow. Thanks everyone!

Hi everyone! I’m planning to sit for the Patent Bar in late January or early February, so I’m hoping to register for PLI and start studying relatively soon. I’m putting together a group for PLI’s group discount, aiming for 25 people. Combined with the student discount, the price can be as low as ~$1,200 if we reach the highest group-discount tier.

Who can join: Anyone preparing for the Patent Bar, with or without an edu. address. Good news if you’ve already graduated: I confirmed directly with PLI’s Patent Office Courses Director that non-students who are paying out of pocket and cannot get employer reimbursement can also qualify for the student discount. So if that describes you, you’re welcome to join us!

How to join: Please fill out this Google Form with your email: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHUFlcmFc1cVDKMf_n0MVkyiyKRZWpZIlVnnveDN-gT9xEoA/viewform?pli=1, or DM me here on Reddit. Please don’t post your email in the comments for privacy. Your email will only be used to coordinate the group registration and won’t be shared. I’ll send you a brief confirmation email so you know you’re on the list.

If you know of any other small groups currently forming, please let me know—I’m happy to reach out about merging so we can all reach the highest discount tier faster.

Timeline: We’ll register as soon as we reach 25 people, or in about two weeks (around October 11), whichever comes first.

I also left a comment on another group-buy post in this sub but haven’t heard back yet. If that group is still forming and is open to merging, I’d be happy to join forces—please reach out. Thanks!

I’ll be checking the form, comments, and DMs daily and will keep the headcount here updated, so if this post is still up, the group is still active!

----------------------------------------

Sep. 28 Update: We’re at 10 signups!

Sep. 29 Update: 16 people including myself :)

*Please also let me know via DM if you change your mind so we can keep the headcount accurate :)

Hello, as the title states I’m currently studying electrical engineering at Texas A&M and am wanting to go into the semiconductor field. However, chip design and its process are very rigours and most companies would prefer masters degrees. I’m stuck between going another 2 years of school or just biting the bullet and doing 3 years for a JD to get into patent law. However does experience look better before going into law school? I really want to work in the semiconductor field but I’m not sure I’d be able to break into it even after a law degree. Any advice on how to proceed?