DD is expected to graduate next year with an engineering degree. One of the possible career path she is concerning is patent and trademark law with specialization in a very narrow technical field. One of the firms that already started recruiting will be offering competitive salary for two years and after that paying for law school while working part time. Is this the common offer in the industry?
Very few law students go to law school with an employer paying for it, so it’s uncommon if we’re talking about the universe of all law students. But I don’t think it’s that unusual for the particular niche of patent agents (non-lawyers who help write patent applications) who then become patent prosecutors (lawyers who write patent applications and try to convince the USPTO to grant them).
The downside is that going to law school while working as a patent agent is really tough for 4 years. And you’re limited to schools that offer part-time programs, which rules out many of the top-ranked schools. And patent prosecution is a specialized subfield in law, so it can be tough to switch to anything else down the line.
The upside obviously is that you have an employer paying for law school and a guaranteed high-paying job at the end of the line. That’s a much better position than a lot of law students are in. My understanding is that she could try it out for 1-2 years to see if she likes it without making any longer commitment, right? Some people like patent prosecution – it combines scientific knowledge with legal strategy and reasoning. Some people hate it though, since you’re not really doing any of the actual science yourself, and some of the legal work can be a bit repetitive, I think.
Thank you @SlippinJimmy. This is helpful!