<p>I'm a junior in EE and planning on pursuing IP Law eventually. I'm wondering:</p>
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<li>Is there any opportunity for internships for an engineering undergrad with no education yet in law (IP research, for example, seems like something I could do at my current level of education)?</li>
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<p>Bonus question: What's the best method of finding these? I live close to a big city, so it seems there would be lots of places offering internships, I'm just not sure how to find and apply for them.</p>
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<li>I'm also wondering if it would be a good idea to take the patent bar exam after graduating, and spend a year or two working as a patent agent (instead of an engineer) before applying to a masters in engineering and law (possibly law even later if I can't get into a joint program). Would this look bad when applying for a masters in either engineering or law?</li>
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<p>I’m responding to this from the perspective of an engineer/engineering manager with a lot of experience as an inventor, and a lot of interaction with patent agents and patent attorneys.</p>
<p>I’ve known about 5 engineers who have become patent agents, and ALL of them had significant experience with patents during their many years of engineering work experience. I would guess that it would be very difficult to find work as a new patent agent without some relevant work experience. I also suspect it would be quite difficult to pass the patent bar without some type of patent experience or coursework. I’m quite sure that the companies where I have worked would never hire a new patent agent with no work experience in engineering or a patent law office. </p>
<p>My advice would be to work as engineer for a few years before going to law school to prepare for a career path as a patent lawyer.</p>
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<li><p>As far as I know there are no IP internships for undergraduates. They are reserved for law students.</p></li>
<li><p>You could take the patent bar exam whenever you wish. You should take one of the review courses before taking the exam. This would be a plus in your search for an entry-level position in IP but it would not guarantee you such a position, especially in today’s difficult economy.</p></li>
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<p>All major (biglaw) law firms hire non-lawyers as legal assistants. These are paid, full-time positions (not internships). Most of these positions are filled by recent college grads who want to work in a law-firm setting prior to going to law school. Alot of these positions are listed with your college placement center. Alternatively, you can contact the firm to see if they’re hiring and send them your resume. They are highly competitive and they will require you send them a transcript along with your resume. If selected, you will work like a dog “assisting” lawyers at the firm with whatever they require.</p>
<p>In my experience, the types of jobs Graduate refers to are not really legally related. They do give one an idea of the atmosphere of working in a law firm, and some general idea of what lawyers do, but as jobs they are ordinary jobs, often in “records management” (fileroom and computer record-keeping) or “office services” (everything involved in running the office, from filling the coffee pots to setting up meeting rooms and the like). One may or may not work like a dog, but the jobs generally keep regular office hours (but can include night shifts).</p>
<p>The ones I’m familiar with are most certainly legal related. They are legal assistants…one notch lower than a paralegal but one notch above simple office clerk. I know alot of midsize and small law firms hire office clerks. These are not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about legal assistants at large, national firms. We had 3 working for us in the manhattan office. All three came from ivies. We had them help us with simply discovery (looking for certain documents), looking for things in depo transcripts, etc. In our silicon valley office, we had at least 10 working in the transactions department. They helped with filing documents for closings, etc. And they were expected to put in long hours…sometimes just as long as the lawyers themselves, especially if they were staffing a big case or a big transaction.</p>