How to Become an Intellectual Property Lawyer

Intellectual property lawyers handle cases that usually involve patents (protect ideas and inventions), copyrights (e.g., protects original music or books), trade secrets (e.g., protects secret food recipe) and trademarks (e.g., protects brand names). For example, an intellectual property rather than a family or bankruptcy lawyer should handle a copyright-infringement case. Lawyers either work as prosecutors or defenders.

Obtain a high school diploma or GED. Next, earn a bachelor's degree. While no undergraduate major will prevent you from becoming a lawyer, intellectually property lawyers deal with technical subjects and should have an engineering or science background.

Prepare and take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) the year before you want to enroll into law school. The LSAT is a standardized test, like the SAT or MCAT, which plays a major role in getting admitted into law school. Additional information, including past exams, is available online at the Law School Admissions Council Web site (lsac.org).

Apply to an accredited law school. Admissions deadlines often run during January through March. Most applications require a personal statement (like an essay), a resume, recommendations and a fee (about $75). You likely will submit your application through the Law School Admissions Council. Contact the financial aid office for information about scholarships, loans and grants.

Attend law school and gain as much exposure as possible to intellectual property, such as through your upper-level course, school club and local bar association group. Utilize your summer vacations to strengthen your intellectual property knowledge, like by participating in a clerkship or internship.

Graduate from law school, obtain your state bar license and pass the patent bar. The patent bar is an exam given by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that you must pass before being allowed to present cases before the Patent and Trademark Office, which has jurisdiction over intellectual property rights. There are test prep programs for both the patent bar and your state bar that help you review before your exams.