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[Pagent]

I have a PhD in engineering and  years of experience, have just passed the patent bar and seeking employment in patent law. I need to prepare for an interview. Could anyone post some typical questions that IP law firms ask in interviewing new patent agents.

[Eliz]

Why do you want to do patent law?
Why don't you want to do engineering anymore?
Why do you want to be in this city?
What type of work would you expect to be doing?
Why this firm?
Small talk re: the patent bar/what review course you took.

These are the big ones that I got asked when interviewing for summer jobs as a 1L.  Most of the interviews were pretty informal.

Good luck!

[Pagent]

Thanks for the questions. SO it appears they do not ask about technical stuff  or even patent issues at all.

Best
Nader

[Isaac]

My experience as an attorney is that neither technical nor patent law related questions are the focus of the interview.   At most there may be some probing of the background on your resume to flesh out the things you've worked on.

You should to be prepared to ask questions of your own.   They help you to make a good impression and also help yoo determine if you really want to work there.

When I went on my first interview, I did a web search terms like - law firm interview - and came up with a ton of advice for interviewers and interviewees.  No reason you could not peek at both...

[Eliz]

Ah, yes...I forgot to tell you to be prepared with questions of your own.  Actually, I a number of interviews that started with, "So, what questions can I answer for you?" or something along those lines.

I was only asked about my technical background in depth on one interview.