Can a patent attorney open his or her own law firm or work from home?
Friday, January 29th, 2010 at
6:10 pm
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I am interested in becoming a patent attorney. I am a high school senior with a 3.9 GPA and several AP classes, and I plan on attending the University of Washington this fall. I plan on majoring in bioengineering because I am interested in both medical and law school.
I just want to know if it is possible for a patent attorney to start his or her own law firm.
Also, if he or she works from home, can they make enough money for a sustainable living? Or is one better off working for a law firm and trying to eventually become a partner?
Ok, if I didn’t want to do intellectual property, but rather just patent law?
You sound like you have a plan and that’s a very good thing. Take a moment and look at your question. You ask "… if it is possible…?" Well, you already know the answer. It is possible, but a better question is if it is the best way for you to organize your career? To that question I would think it is not. There is a lot more to law than you can learn in Law School. Other people have built a platform for you to work from. That’s what a law firm is. If you continue to do well in school and attend a Law School that has a good reputation you should be able to find a small IP firm that will allow you to set-up your practice the way you want and they will provide you with a client base. (btw, IP is the area of law that includes patent practice) You might even find a retiring patent attorney willing to send you clients and show you the ropes, but I would not aim for that, or count on it. Too many solo’s aren’t very good, can’t teach you what needs to be known, and don’t earn enough to be comfortable.
It will be tough to bill $600 per hour when you work at home. Try to be professional
As long as you are licensed by your state’s BAR you can practice wherever you want…from home, an office, or whatever.
Generally attorneys make a very good salary and most charge by the hour for their work. Most attorneys that work for themselves charge around $200 an hour, that seems to be the standard.
But before you can go out on your own and have your own firm you’ll have to pay your dues by working for another firm and getting some experince under your belt.
You would be an idiot if you want to do IP (intellectual property) and started your own firm.
The major firms are international, and already exist, and will pay you, and will help you advance your career. The major clients are all corporations, and have long-standing relationships with these firms who have the resources to represent them.
If you start your own firm, you will go bankrupt, because you will not be able to woo these clients away from the existing firms.
Anyway your high school GPA doesn’t matter, good luck on the LSAT. Bioengineering is a brilliant choice – in order to do IP most students come in to law school with a PhD in chemistry, biology, or the like.
Thing I have found, is that there aren’t isn’t a lot of legal work needed in my neighborhood. I need to work where there are people so I need to be in a city, or at least not out on a farm somewhere.
Patent work is exceptionally protracted. You are currently exceptionally young.
First concern is to get through college, then see if you even still want to be a lawyer. Patent law is dull, dull dull. If I were in your position, I would look into other design areas.
There are far easier and better ways to earn a living. IMO
Feel free to disregard the previous posts as they appear to come from individuals with little to no practical experience.
I am a licensed patent attorney, a partner at a major law firm and have worked all over the world.
You can do anything you want. If you decide you want to work from home then make it happen. You will create your own career path. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
For now, continue to focus on your grades, work hard and enjoy each moment of the journey. Everything will fall into place.