Careers
Interested in Careers that combine the disciplines of chemistry and the law? Talk with one of our members and see how we can help you along your career path.
Considering a legal career after a chemistry degree?
Types of lawyers with chemistry background
IP
Check out this webinar: So You Want to be a Patent Attorney or IP Professional? – American Chemical Society (acs.org)
Patent lawyer/patent agent
The most common legal career for a chemistry degree holder is a career in patent law. A patent lawyer or patent agent represents a client or company before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and helps the client to prepare and file patent applications, prosecute patent applications, and manage patent portfolios. A patent lawyer may also help a client with IP due diligence in connection with a business transaction. A scientific qualification is required for taking the patent agent registration exam (other than for designs).
IP litigation attorney
A chemist may also become a litigator to represent a client or company in IP litigation such as patent infringement lawsuits. Although a scientific degree is not required, it is helpful because highly complex technical analysis is often involved in IP litigation.
Licensing Attorney
Another option related to intellectual property is to become a licensing attorney, and work on IP transactions between companies and/or universities. An academic training in science is helpful for understanding how the technology can be commercialized and generate value.
Where do you work?
A patent lawyer/patent agent, IP litigation attorney, or licensing attorney typically works for a law firm or a company (as an in-house counsel).
How do you get started?
For a patent lawyer/patent agent career path, you may apply to a law firm for an entry-level position often called “science advisor” or “technical specialist” to gain experience. A law firm may prefer an advanced degree such as a PhD. You will be a patent agent after passing the patent bar exam. Some law firms pay for your law school education if you decide to go to law school to become a patent attorney. You may also work for a pharmaceutical or biotech company as a researcher and then transition to a patent agent role in the company.
For an IP litigator path, some law firms have an entry-level position often called “science advisor” or “technical specialist” for litigation practice and pay for your law school education if you decide to go to law school to become an attorney. You may also go to law school directly and then gain experience at a law firm.
To become a licensing attorney, going to law school directly and finding a position at a law firm would be the most common trajectory.
Environmental Law
A chemist may consider becoming an environmental lawyer. An environmental lawyer represents clients such as companies and individuals in a wide range of environmental issues such as climate change , clean tech, sustainability, environmental rights, land use, wetland regulatory, and waste disposal. An environmental lawyer may help clients to comply with laws and regulations or dissolve disputes.
Where do you work?
How do you get started?
You can go to law school and then apply for an environmental lawyer’s position.
Civil Law
Some lawyers go to court to litigate. Some lawyers seldom go to court and they are considered transactional lawyers. The analytical thinking that a chemist learns translates well into both civil litigation and transactional law. In both chemistry and law one analyzes a problem, designs an approach, gather resources needed, and arrives at a solution. Further, it is common for technology issues to dominate trials. Dealing with science and technology is often easier for one with a chemistry background.
Where do you work?
How do you get started?
One must go to law school and become licensed to practice law in whatever state one resides before one can practice law.