Coming off some recent posts on the academic job search, career options in the biotech industry, and plans for a new research park on the east side of Manhattan, I guess this post can be considered part of a miniseries on the wide variety of career options for the New York scientist.

At a Columbia University Biotechnology Association event yesterday Dr. Mitchell Bernstein spoke on his transition from academia to intellectual property law. Mitchell received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Berkeley and went on to do post-docs at Princeton and Yale. After working as an assistant professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he joined the law firm of Darby & Darby as a scientific advisor. He then went on to become a patent agent, attend Fordham law school, and become an associate attorney at the firm.

In a nut shell, being a patent lawyer involves obtaining and enforcing patents and counseling clients on the legalities of filing and securing a patent. Most scientists that transition into patent law start out filing patents and later move on to counseling clients. This work typically involves researching an invention, determining if it is unique, submitting a patent to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and arguing on behalf of the client if that patent is rejected by UPSTO for any reason.

I have to admit, not knowing much about the field of patent law before this event, I had thought of this career path as a good option for the scientist who was either unhappy or unsuccessful in academia. Well, I was definitely wrong about that. According to Bernstein (who was a very successful scientist during his stint in academia), it is the very skills that make you a good scientist, the ability to think independently, critically evaluate ideas, and solve complex problems, that make a successful patent lawyer. This field also offers one key advantage over research: predictability. Unlike scientific research, there will always be someone in need of aid when filing a patent, so the demand for patent lawyers is steady (well, as steady as it can be during these grim economic times). Patent lawyers also seem to have more control over the the day-to-day results of their work, compared to variability of laboratory work.

Even though you may no longer be on the cutting edge of scientific research, you don’t have to leave your inner scientist behind when transitioning into patent law. In fact, Bernstein was hired largely because of his scientific knowledge and scientists just like you and I make up of some of his client base.

So while this may not be the right career path for every scientist, it is certainly a viable option for those in need of a stimulating and distinguished career outside of the laboratory.