I am not a big fan of modern IP practice. The tremendous value that an IP practitioner can bring to a company, plus the fact that so few attorneys are qualified to sit for the Patent Bar exam, makes a patent attorney a very valuable commodity. From a patent attorney’s perspective, this means that a higher hourly billing rate is appropriate.
I have found that clients seem to fall into three categories. The sophisticated client understands IP and knows exactly what services they want. Typically, this client has in-house counsel that handles patents and other related IP matters. The in-house counsel is the voice of IP reason within the company, educating the inventors and being a constant resource for management decisions.
