How to go from IP to other areas of paralegal work?

I have an immediate opportunity to do IP paralegal work. Of the areas of legal work, IP holds the least amount of interest for me. I would much more prefer to work in criminal , family, employment, or bankruptcy law. But I do not believe I should pass up this opportunity. They will pay for the IP certification. That is, the paralegal certification, but only in IP.

Question, Will I be able to easily transfer to another area of legal work in 2-3 years with this IP certification? If so, what area of paralegal work transfers easiest? Possibly mention something, if applicable, relating to demand and supply of that area. Examples can be litigation, contracts and so forth. thanks.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 1:48 pm and is filed under Bankruptcy Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

One Response to “How to go from IP to other areas of paralegal work?”

1. saf1367 Says:
   May 19th, 2009 at 7:37 pm

   Because IP is such a specialized area, the opportunity to transfer that knowledge to another area is somewhat limited. However, if the IP work you perform includes IP litigation, you could transfer into litigation quite easily.

   Moreover, even if your IP knowledge doesn’t transfer to another area, your skills will. The legal research skills, organizational skills and attention to detail required for IP work will transfer to almost any other paralegal specialization.

   Right now the top 5 hottest legal practice areas are: IP, litigation, real estate, corporate and bankruptcy. As I mentioned earlier, your IP experience may open up opportunities in litigation although criminal and family law would be a bigger jump.

   Sally A. Kane, Esq.
   About.com Guide to Legal Careers