"Soft" Intellectual Property Law: IP Opportunities for Non-STEM Attorneys (21st Century Legal Career Series)

Build a legal career in one of the hottest 21st century practice areas! In his 21st Century Legal Career Series, Richard L. Hermann researches, evaluates, and predicts where the employment opportunities are and will be for law graduates. Volume 5, “Soft” Intellectual Property Law: IP Opportunities for Non-STEM Attorneys, details why this is the best time in history to contemplate a legal career in intellectual property (IP) regardless of an attorney’s educational background aside from law school. Whether you combine your law degree with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) background, or come to law from a purely liberal arts orientation, this booklet reveals the exciting opportunities available to you in intellectual property. Highlights include: What Makes Soft IP Law So “Hot?”—The Emergence of Soft IP Who Hires: JD Advantage Soft IP Job Opportunities Breaking into Soft IP Law What Does It Pay? How to Get Advance Notice of Soft IP Job Opportunities Follow-Up IP has changed dramatically in the 21st century and now encompasses far more than patent law. Hermann traces the proliferation of legal positions for IP professionals who lack a STEM education, but have other skills, to 10 developments including: the 180-degree switch in the nature of corporate assets from 4:1 goods and tangibles to 4:1 IP and intangibles; the consequent emergence of Intellectual asset management as a niche practice; the exponential growth of technology commercialization and licensing; and the accelerating pace of technological innovation. The major soft IP practice areas offering JD Advantage opportunities are trademarks, copyrights, intellectual asset management, technology licensing and commercialization and to a lesser extent, IP rights enforcement. The surge in soft IP has generated more than 30 JD Advantage job titles. Hermann focuses on what law students and lawyers need to know to break into this hot employment field in which the number of soft-IP jobs for which non-STEM attorneys can compete is rapidly approaching equivalency with the number of patent-related jobs.