Patent Attorney: A Fusion of Skills

Here's the situation: you are a Bates graduate with a degree in Physics, you have been working as an engineer for 12 years at a company in which you will continue to advance in position and pay, and you own a home and are settled in nicely where you live. What do you do next? "I quit my job, sold the house, and went to law school," says Mr. Samuel Apicelli.
Three years of law school and three different firms later, Apicelli has wholly succeeded in completing his 180 degree spin on life. As a patent attorney, he drafts patent applications, examines products to determine their patentability, and counsels clients on how to convince the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to issue a patent for their invention. "I spend probably 60% of my day writing," says Apicelli. "Patent applications are 20-50 page-long documents. In addition, there are letters to clients and prosecutorial letters that need to be written." Apicelli specializes in the electrical and mechanical "arts," the jargon in his field for the scientific disciplines of electronics and mechanics. His clientele is varied, from solo inventors to the engineering departments of large corporations, all submitting products as different as VR surgical devices and Rubix Cube-type games. For Apicelli, one of the highlights of being an intellectual property attorney, besides being in the "highest-paying and hottest area of law," is the opportunity to keep current with the fields of both law and technology. "It is the best combination of scholarly and technical work that I could find," says Apicelli.
Apicelli's science background is what allowed him to pursue his profession. In addition to a law degree, it is necessary to have a minimum of forty credit hours in undergraduate chemistry, physics or some combination of the two before you can become a patent attorney. Naturally, he recommends a science major to those interested in the field. As far as experience goes, "You really need at least one year of law school before you can do anything to help a law firm," Apicelli contends, and therefore, sees internships at the college level as not particularly useful or necessary and very difficult to get. Apicelli's favorite quote from The Education of Henry Adams, is decidedly optimistic: "All experience is an arch to build upon." He credits his Bates liberal arts education with providing him the ability to read and write well, and he values the opportunity he had during college to learn about such a wide variety of subjects. "Some of my best classes were English, Theater, and Art History courses, even though I was a Physics major." He encourages Bates students to take full advantage of the learning atmosphere and expand their knowledge in all areas. "Whenever you think you're stuck, get unstuck. If you feel like doing something different, do it, because you'll wonder about it later."

by Sam McDaniel '98