In order to become a trademark infringement lawyer, you must get a college degree and a law degree. You must also get specialized internship training. Due to the nature of legal training, becoming adept at trademark infringement law could take several years.
Trademarks include symbols, phrases, words, unique color, or unique packaging that are used in identification of a specific seller’s or manufacturer’s product. The trademark distinguishes one company’s product from another. Trademark infringement lawyers act to protect the rights of those who own trademarks.
If you aspire to become a trademark infringement lawyer, your bachelor’s degree does not need to be in a law-related area. You could choose any major; however, doing a college internship in a law firm could be an asset. For example, a college law firm internship will enable you to observe, learn, and determine if a law career is a good career fit. Also, doing a college internship in a law firm could result in law schools being more receptive to your law school application.
Application to law school will usually happen during the final semester of college. Law school, if done on a full-time basis, will take approximately three years to complete. If your goal is to become a trademark infringement lawyer, some of the courses that you will take include courses such as legal research, legal writing, civil procedure, criminal procedure, intellectual property, and of course trademark law.
During law school, most likely during one summer, you will do an internship at a law firm specializing in trademark infringement law where you will be supervised as you get training in the way lawyers function in this particular area of law. Then, at the end of the internship, you will go back to law school to complete your courses. At the end of the three years, you will be awarded a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree.
In some cases, if you had a successful internship, the law firm may offer you a job at the end of law school. This will be a direct path for you to become a trademark infringement lawyer. You can also look for a job in other settings relevant to trademark infringement law, such as in a corporation or in the government. Some individuals, who have specific academic interests pertaining to trademark law, may even prefer to enter academia as law school professors.
It can be useful to have strong academic ability. Granted, it is also important to have good social skills if you hope to become a trademark infringement lawyer. After all, a large part of what lawyers do is communicate with clients and others, and being able to communicate easily to put others at ease and persuade others is important in being able to win cases.
