Interview with Adam Bell, Esq., Founder
1. Tell me about the course, how it got started and what it entails.
I started IPlegalED back in 2002 and we have now trained thousands of paralegals in hundreds of firms, corporations and government departments. More than any other comprehensive training program, I believe. It all started when I was working as a patent attorney at a fast-moving Silicon Valley company. I would be paired up with an inexperienced legal secretarial person and asked to “train” them in patent administration. That trained person was then immediately poached by a senior attorney, and the process would start again! Patent administration involves a lot of rules and knowledge, which is why it pays so well, but there simply was no good formal training available. So, I decided to make one! I absolutely hate unnecessarily confusing writing, I see it all the time as a lawyer, so I wrote everything down in the clearest way I could, using short paragraphs and simple step-by-step instructions, covering all the common procedures in a typical patent practice. That’s how it all started – with printed pages in a ring binder!
2. 2,000 students is a lot! How long have you been doing this and where are the students located?
Actually, we have trained 2551 paralegal students since 2002! Patent and Trademark law is federal law, so it’s the same in every state, so the IPlegalED course is relevant wherever you are located. All employers want the same training. Most of our students are employed by law firms, corporate IP departments and by US government departments such as NASA, the Army, Navy, Airforce, Department of Energy etc. We have many repeat clients who trust us IPlegalED to train their legal personnel. We now even have former students sending their children to take the course!
3. Give us an idea as to what you teach and how long it takes to go through the program.
It is very much a practical course. We teach everything you need to know when actually working day-to-day as a patent/trademark paralegal supporting attorneys. You become truly indispensable. It’s a professional course designed to teach practical, marketable skills – the skills that employers and attorneys look for in an IP paralegal. That’s how and why it was written. We provide completely up-to-date information with step-by-step guidance and examples for each task you will need to handle. The IPlegalED patent course e-book is over 600 pages (always kept up to date with rule changes etc) and it provides an encyclopedic, but easy to access “how to” guide for professional practice. People tend to refer to it as their first-stop resource. As a patent attorney myself, I use it almost daily, just to check the complicated rules and reassure myself that I know what I’m doing! The patent course takes about 140 hours and the trademark course takes about 80 hours. Of course it depends on your level of experience. A novice will have to spend more time on the initial chapters that teach the key concepts, whereas an experienced practitioner will be able to move more quickly.
4. What is the market like for IP paralegals? What do you see in the next five years?
The employment prospects are excellent! According to Labor Department data released January 2024, the U.S. legal services sector is projected to break its record high employment level of 1,190,500 legal jobs (Reuters, 5 Jan 2024). In the paralegal field, IP paralegals earn nearly 60% more than other paralegals on average ($102K vs. $64k/yr) according to Glassdoor. So, it’s a very good and stable market, with lots of full time, part time, and hybrid jobs available, and it’s only getting better in the next five years as older paralegals go into retirement. Demand outstrips supply. Also, as tech becomes relevant to every aspect of our lives, IP in general is booming.
5. What are the most important characteristics and skills for an IP paralegal?
Paralegals are an attorney’s indispensable right hand, and they work very closely with one another. You must be trustworthy and reliable. Reliability comes from a strong knowledge and understanding of the rules and procedures. You have to be accurate and good at proofreading (especially your attorney’s work!), and you need to be aware of all the potential mistakes and pitfalls. Basically, self-discipline plus good training make a great IP paralegal.
6. How competitive is the market?
It’s a pretty active market with many jobs for IP paralegals, and getting stronger. But like all professions, the first job is the hardest and may not pay the best, but that is where you build experience. After 1-2 years, the salaries jump and you’re in demand. Everyone wants an experienced paralegal, so there is a lot of lateral movement with competitive salaries to match.
7. In what city can you find the most jobs?
There are lots of jobs around the cities with a lot of tech or biotech jobs such as Boston, Cambridge, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Huston, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Miami, Washington D.C., Phoenix, Philadelphia, Austin, San Antonio, Jacksonville, New York & New Jersey. But even small towns can have patent and trademark attorneys.
8. What are the salaries like?
If you ask Glassdoor “How much does a Patent Paralegal make?” you’ll get $95,000-154,000/yr. (updated June 2024). Trademark paralegals make $67,000-119,000. This is well ahead of just “paralegals” whose salary shows as $554,000-$85,000, according to Glassdoor. That sounds about right to me, depending on experience. Law firms generally pay higher salaries than corporate IP departments.
9. How hard is it to find IP paralegals, particularly in prosecution, is it?
We get requests from recruiters and companies all the time, so it’s an active job market. Based on job boards, ads for experienced paralegals in CA usually can be seen for 3-4 weeks. It’s hard to tell if that’s based on how long the company is looking or if that’s the limit they’ve paid for exposure. But every attorney needs at least one good paralegal working with them, and the job market appears steady and strong. And once you have experience, you are highly sought after.
10. Tell us about your instructors.
All our instructors are currently-practicing professional patent or trademark attorneys and paralegals, each with over 20 years continuous work. These are the only people who can possibly support a course like this. There is no such thing as a professional teacher in this field. You have to be completely up to date and knowledgeable – to support this course you simply can’t have any gaps in your knowledge. All our students get unlimited support during the course. They can ask as many questions as they like by email. Even after the course, we always encourage our students to stay in touch. We’re always there to help.
11. Give us a little information about you and how you got into teaching paralegals.
Like many patent attorneys, I’m basically an academic and a teacher at heart. I got my PhD in biochemistry and worked in and taught biochemistry and microbiology before going into the law. As a scientist, you become passionate about teaching things you find exciting, and honestly, I don’t think there is any profession more fascinating than IP law. You already know my story about how I came to write the initial course as printed pages in a ring binder! My assistant, Crystal, decided it might be a good idea to put it on the internet, and the rest is history!
12. Is there anything else you would like to add?
It’s a very stable job. It’s not unusual for paralegals to stay with their attorneys for 10 or 20+ years. Many attorneys try to take their paralegals with them when they change jobs. The specialties (patent and TM) pay more than regular paralegal positions, and when companies have layoffs usually the legal department is the best place to be.
Adam Bell
USPTO registered patent attorney with over 20 years of law-firm and in-house experience. Ph.D. from the University of Oxford, J.D. from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Vast experience practicing patent and trademark law and managing strategic IP portfolios for diverse US and international clients. Founder of www.iplegaled.com, the No.1 IP paralegal training course in the US. Passionate about education, the environment and creating a better tomorrow for our children. Active in pro bono work with veterans’ associations including Bunker Labs and ActonZone.
