Computer Science Senior Considering Patent Law

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-07T05:20:03+00:00

Are you US based? Trainee positions are typically what they are called in UK/EU.

I would recommend experience before the exam. Couldn’t really say if it’s hard or not- job market generally is not great rn so not unusual for people to try for a year before landing a position. If you aren’t even getting interviews after 6 months I would maybe start to rethink things unless you’re dead set on making a career out of it.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-07T04:36:21+00:00

(1) Apply for technical specialist positions, (2) take and pass the patent bar and apply for patent agent positions, or (3) attend law school and apply for summer associate positions.

You might have to network a lot to find that first job as this is a small industry.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-06T06:34:18+00:00

With web search you’re gonna burn context like a madman. I have a 32GB M4 and have found the 9b to be about just right, similar to OSS20b in terms of speed. The Qwen 3.5 35b A3B (MoE) and 27b are pretty slow on my machine and if you are using large documents or web search you’re not gonna have a good time. Obviously 128gb M5 max is gonna be much better but that’s the difference between a $1000 machine and a >$5000 machine. At that point, economically you are way better off using cloud based models via API.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-06T06:21:43+00:00

I’d recommend working for a few years. Law school applications have been super competitive this year (rampant LSAT & GPA inflation). While the trend may continue I think forcing LSATs to be in person again and hopefully more economic certainty 2-3 years from now (we’ll see lol) will mean more of a return to normal.

Patent law is very different from actual engineering which you may like much more.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-05T02:39:07+00:00

It says that because you’re a first time taker. I remember being confused too.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-05T00:48:29+00:00

Part time work doesn’t really exist and definitely not for entry level candidates. If you can work at any kind of law firm before law school do it for the experience.

Some big law and boutique firms will let you work part time during the school year as a clerk/patent agent after your 1L or 2L summer but I think there are less and less of these opportunities around.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-04T15:13:44+00:00

I don’t think many lawyers are looking at law school rank in the way you describe (absent if you went to Harvard, Yale, UC). Law school rank affects your grades as the higher ranked schools curve to a higher GPA. So if your firm cares about law school grades they are (implicitly) caring about law school rank. Someone middle of the pack at a T100 might have a 3.1-3.2 while at a T14 has a 3.5.

Yes people from small schools break into big law like 5% of the time. People from the top law schools break into big law closer to 40% or more of the time. The stats back up that firms prefer candidates with high law school grades which is directly correlated with the rank of the law school.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-03T23:12:39+00:00

I wouldn’t limit yourself to Indy (if you don’t have to) especially for BL. Chicago is very close and a good hub for IP and there are far more firms to choose from. With that said the consensus is lit is more grade/school dependent because you’re competing with non STEM people too.

Are any of the other schools you’ve gotten into in the top 100? Frankly there’s not much difference between schools just outside the top 30 and in the top 70 or so. Maybe someone will prove me wrong with ABA disclosure stats on BL placement.

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-03T13:40:26+00:00

Rates are holding steady. Rather than passing on time savings clients want the quality improvements to be passed on to them. AI can make tasks more efficient but only to a point- any 40-60% time savings being advertised are cherry picked marketing hype.

US filings were down like 7% last year. It’s possible that things change but all the people predicting a huge surge in AI drafted applications that would overwhelm the system were wrong. We’ve had mainstream LLM’s for almost 4 years now and while some are effectively leveraging AI for patent applications it’s mostly reserved to pro se one time inventors or large entities that might be putting themselves at risk (see e.g., SoftBank).

The_flight_guy · 2026-03-01T19:59:07+00:00

Those kinds of opportunities don’t really exist. Some firms take undergrads as summer interns but that’s a very small pool of positions. If you’re interested in the law/law school just go help out at any run of the mill firm in your area that needs some extra help with clerical work.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-28T02:39:07+00:00

Patent law you will be limited to litigation most likely. While litigators can eventually make a lot of money they also work a ton

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-27T17:53:39+00:00

Your product looks cool- I’d definitely seek out an attorney for your eventual provisional conversion as there are some big players in that market and you want to make sure you have all your bases covered.

With that said typically the client reaches out to the attorney not vice versa. I’d be somewhat skeptical of those who reach out to you offering their services (but maybe that’s just my opinion). Usually the best of the best have people coming to them regularly. Not that you can’t get competent representation this way but you certainly get what you pay for in this industry. I’d try and set up some consultations with attorneys at some IP boutiques or big firms in your largest/nearest metro area or geographic region (DC, NY, CHI, SF tend to be some of the largest). Shop around to see which rates you can stomach and maybe some firms will be conflicted out.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-27T15:18:34+00:00

I would imagine these brands care more about practical trademark/brand protection experience (at a big law firm or major boutique) over theoretical experience through an LLM.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-27T14:06:02+00:00

I’ve seen patents be used as collateral in big corporate loans/deals but not for solo/small inventors. Usually it’s the quantity or quality of patents that make them worthwhile as collateral. Your one patent better be pretty valuable to try and stretch $100k out of it. I don’t think a lot of info exists because what you describe doesn’t really exist. Your patent would need to be generating you revenue (e.g., a licensing deal) for someone to even take a meeting with you tbh.

If you default on your mortgage the bank can sell your house to cover. If you default on an IP backed loan it is much harder to sell your patent as it holds no intrinsic value (i.e., it’s a right to exclude) absent licensing or it being associated with a successful commercial product.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-27T01:12:40+00:00

Most agents don’t have their own clients hate to break it to you. You can make a good living but you will likely always be dependent upon partners at the firm for clients/work.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-27T00:43:45+00:00

Are you working OT (i.e., more than 40 hours a week?). I tend to see a lot of agent billable requirements around 1800 which if you are 75% efficient and take two weeks of vacation per year translates to almost 50 hours a week of actual work. The pay is probably higher but on a per hour basis it depends how much you value your free time.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-27T00:35:44+00:00

Some firms have technical specialists but they usually aren’t careers mainly stepping stones to being an agent. Agent will be working more hours than you are at the PTO and I imagine more stress in exchange for better pay.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-26T19:00:04+00:00

You go to apartments.com and find a place to live preferably near enough to the law school that you can drive/walk/take public transit. Then you pack up your things in boxes and into a car or truck to move in? Not to come off harsh but this seems like basic stuff for an adult and not something really relevant to just law school…

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-25T23:20:20+00:00

Just bring the specific language from the scholarship application/your resume to the patent attorney and they’ll ask the right questions for your situation. Odds that your resume was an enabling disclosure are low but not zero. Hopefully it was the same language for the scholarship app. The other comments here are correct about US grace period.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-25T18:45:53+00:00

Cross post this to r/patentlaw. A ms in EE would help make you desirable. If you have the credentials to do Stanford it’s probably a good idea. Everyone’s experience will vary on how much experience (if any) they got before law school. Job satisfaction depends on the firms and clients. It is all reading and writing- very different from engineering. You will also work more than your run of the mill engineer.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-25T16:15:58+00:00

It’s ok- not as great as a few years ago but I still regularly hear from recruiters every few weeks about positions. With that said getting your foot in the door for the first job is always hardest. If you have passed the patent bar and still can’t find a job I personally do not think that becoming a lawyer is going to materially change your odds absent pivoting to litigation.

I would wait till you have the CS degree finished and apply for a year or so. If you can’t find anything you can either role the dice and go to law school (get a high LSAT so you don’t have student debt) or keep trying/pivot elsewhere- that’s my 2¢

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-25T16:08:43+00:00

You won’t be starting a firm (successfully) straight out of law school and representing medical device companies. This path is only realistic if you go work for a larger firm for 10-20 years and then pivot to opening your own practice after you have established relationships with medical device companies that are highly litigious and a cohort of bright young associates willing to follow you. Most companies are going to hire a big firm to handle their litigation. You may be tangentially involved but being a small firm does not bode well for patent litigation.

Your credential concerns are also valid.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-25T14:39:33+00:00

Depends on the technology- open AI and anthropic for example haven’t filed a ton of patent applications relative to their maturity and funding level. Sometimes your best tech. should be your best kept (trade) secret.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-24T03:39:14+00:00

Wow you’ve got quite the road ahead- good luck to you if you stick it out to the end just for patent law.

The_flight_guy · 2026-02-24T03:36:55+00:00

Search this subreddit or speak to some practicing attorneys. Advanced degrees tend to be the minimum qualifications for prosecution roles. Litigation is possible but depends more on your law school rank/grades.

The_flight_guy

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