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[thought001]

I currently work in an IP law firm as a Ph.D. Patent Agent in the area of chemistry and related sciences.  I have been finding the workload to be getting unmanageable and that in combination with a top partner who acts as a non-appreciative taskmaster and likes to yell and complain, but never show appreciation of my hard work. It's not an easy situation.

Therefore, I am very interested in working as a freelancer at home where I can be more free. I would greatly appreciate any advice on a good place to start for freelance work. If you know anyone or a firm who is interested in freelance patent agents, please feel free to let me know. I have much skill in chemical patent drafting, filing and associated work experience.

Lastly, I support all of you good hard workers that try your best and are treated without appreciation by the ones on top. Unfortunately, it's all too common, and especially prevalent in law firms. A lot of these lawyers in high places should tone down and begin thinking about acting as good human beings.

Thank you in advance for any advice you may bring.

Love to all,
Thought001

[J. Smith@aol.com]

For a start, there are usually one or two ads in the classified section of Intellectual Property Today for freelance patent writers.

[JimIvey]

Mr. Smith raised the point I was going to.  I would also add that a number of "virtual firms" are springing up.  I've seen various forms of virtual firms in terms of business organization, but they tend to have one thing in common -- the attorneys can (or must) provide their own office space.  Our firm is organized that way (http://www.isrlaw.com).

The potential downside is that you generally don't get much of a safety net (a minimum guaranteed income) since it's quite difficult to ensure minimum levels of productivity when people are separated geographically.

So, in short, these opportunities exist.  Good luck!

[agent101]

I'm also considering freelance work.  Jim -  do you feel that it's necessary to carry malpractice insurance the first year of individual practice?   Your thoughts are appreciated.

[JimIvey]

Personally, I didn't have coverage for my first 5 or so years of practice as a solo practitioner.  I did have it through employers during my first 4 years of practice.  

I saw some things done by other practitioners that made me feel rather comfortable that I wasn't at risk for failing to meet a fairly reasonable level of competence and therefore wasn't all that worried.  However, you should be aware that a claim against you is as easy as forgetting/missing a deadline.  And, I don't know what experience you have before going solo, but I'd say that coverage is manditory if you have no more than 3 years full-time experience (or its equivalent).

In short, I did alright without it, but I don't recommend it.  At the time, I didn't own a house or have a family.  I think those should be considerations for you.

You might also find that clients (in your case, other firms, right?) prefer that you have coverage.  Your mistakes might expose the firm(s) to liability without proper coverage.  In fact, an arrangement like that was what prompted me to get coverage.

At the very least, shop around.  It took me a month or longer to get coverage in place and interfered with a business relationship I was pursuing at the time.  You should at least be ready to submit an application to the provider you want to work with on the day it becomes a prerequisite for getting work that you need -- to minimize delay.

I hope that helps.

Regards.