A Career Like No Other
MoFo’s Patent practitioners are among some of the top in the nation. They are subject–matter experts who go beyond the legal details to get to know their client’s products and services inside and out. As a patent practitioner, you’ll represent a wide array of life sciences and technology clients who are on the cutting edge of tomorrow’s discoveries in areas ranging from DNA/genetic engineering to agricultural technology to pharmaceuticals, and beyond. No matter your area of interest, you’ll be sure to have a career story that is as unique as the ideas you work to protect.
Write Your Success Story
Our success is only as good as the people we hire. So, we want to ensure that you’re inspired and prepared for the challenging work that lies ahead. At MoFo, you can expect significant responsibility, including client contact, early on in your career. You’ll carry our reputation into every challenge and client interaction. If you’re ready for the next exciting chapter of your legal career and you’re interested in being part of a collaborative and innovative team, MoFo is the place for you.
We are actively hiring graduate students and post-doctorates for full-time scientific/technical analyst and patent agent positions across many of our domestic offices.
MoFo Stories
Get to know MoFo through the eyes of our talented patent professionals and lawyers. Click on the photos to read why they chose MoFo and, more importantly, why they choose to stay.
Go Beyond the Bench
A strategic approach to patents requires an understanding of how they fit into a company’s larger business model and commercial strategy. Morrison & Foerster’s Patent Group focuses on work that is strategically vital to clients—work that can make or break their business models. It takes a different breed of patent lawyer to work at that end of the spectrum. We know the difference—and our clients know the difference.
We represent a wide array of life sciences and technology clients in areas, such as:
- Recombinant DNA/genetic engineering
- Monoclonal antibodies
- Agricultural technology
- Medical technology
- Chemical technology
- Pharmaceuticals
- Materials science
- Biomedical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Medical devices
- Nanotechnology
- Bioinformatics
- Inorganic and organic chemistry
- Electronics, software, and telecommunications
Two-Summer Patent Program 
To be the best, you must be trained by the best. In our Two-Summer Patent Program, you’ll do real work with one of the top IP teams in the United States—having appeared four times on National Law Journal’s “IP Hot List” and being twice-named Law360’s “IP Practice Group of the Year”—to help you become the next successful MoFo IP attorney.
Our patent program has two tracks: Patent Strategy & Prosecution and Patent Litigation. You’ll be fully immersed in our patent prosecution group or patent litigation group over two summers, where you’ll receive guidance on your professional development as you prepare to take the USPTO exam, free of cost. You’ll also attend our unique Patent Boot Camp training program and be mentored by our leading IP partners.
Many Areas to Make Your Mark
MoFo’s Patent Group is one of the most highly regarded in the legal industry when it comes to helping some of the world’s biggest life sciences and technology companies create and protect landmark patent portfolios. With vast international experience in the areas of biotechnology, chemistry, plant biology, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, our patent prosecution and counseling practice offers clients a depth of industry and technical expertise that is second-to-none. Our patent team includes attorneys, patent agents, and scientific advisors with advanced scientific and engineering degrees, and more than 65 Ph.D.s in life sciences and related engineering disciplines.
The antibody-based technology sector is one of the most dynamic in the biopharmaceutical industry. Cutting-edge innovation and discovery in antibody engineering and therapeutics as well as diagnostic and therapeutic advances in oncology and autoimmune therapies are poised to drive the market well over $300B in the next five years. Our Antibody patent practice offers clients unparalleled, comprehensive legal services to address the full life-cycle of issues shaping their businesses—helping them strengthen their IP and drive products to market. With a team that includes a sizeable group of USPTO-qualified attorneys and patent agents focused on antibody technologies, we have specific research experience in antibody and antibody-related science and we counsel on strategic planning and management of patent portfolios. We work with our clients to write successful patent applications for complex and novel antibodies with a goal of achieving the broadest protection possible, and in consideration of third-party patents as well as prospects for follow-on biologics. Our group also helps craft strategies to manage the intersection of IP with clinical trials development, international product approval strategy, and investigational new drug (IND) filings.
Morrison & Foerster has one of the most experienced and highly regarded pharmaceutical chemistry patent groups in the legal field. With 20+ Ph.D.s in fields such as chemistry, organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, and chemical sciences and engineering—as well as many years of academic and industry research experience—we speak the language of our clients, appreciate the significance of their inventions, and effectively communicate the value of their innovations. Our team provides a full range of patent prosecution and strategic counseling services to startups and large pharmaceutical companies, and we tailor our approach to fit the business goals of each client. We take into account the entire life cycle of a drug, from pre-clinical research through commercial launch and follow-on formulations and indications, and design strategies to build meaningful patent protection around the world. Our experience drafting and filing robust patent applications that can withstand legal challenges by competitors provides the foundation on which we create a successful IP platform. We have extensive experience implementing global patent strategies to leverage the value of the global drug market.
Advanced Materials and Chemicals
In the advanced materials sector, Morrison & Foerster has represented manufacturers of acrylics, plastics, polymers, chemicals, industrial and special gases, and metal alloys. Our team prepares and prosecutes patents in areas including nanotechnology, polymer chemistry, and composite materials.
With more than 20 Ph.D. fields related to plant biology and microbiology, Morrison & Foerster’s Plant Intellectual Property team is the global leader in multinational IP diligence, protection, and enforcement related to seeds, plant varieties, gene editing, and agricultural products and equipment.
Our team oversees and coordinates the filing and maintenance of plant patent, plant breeders’ rights (PBRs), and plant-related trademark rights worldwide, and we have extensive experience preparing and obtaining utility patents for edited and transgenic plants expressing new traits, utility patents for new plant varieties, plant patents, and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Certificates. We also advise and counsel clients on the handling of trademarks and variety denominations, and complex litigation matters.
In addition, we help our food and agtech clients in the U.S. and around the world secure patents on technologies related to artificial intelligence (AI), automation, biological pesticides, computer learning, data aggregation, drones, new plant traits, plant genomics, and user interfaces.
Life sciences data analytics are at the intersection of technology and healthcare, and our team advises clients on all legal aspects of this business, including patenting software and AI-related life sciences inventions, licensing of data, providing counsel on the steps to ensure data privacy and ethical use of data, and guiding clients through the FDA approval process for data-driven diagnostic assays and medical devices. Working at the forefront of both the life sciences and technology industries, we understand the challenges in patenting innovation in this evolving area and how to navigate the IP and regulatory hurdles in bringing new products to market.
Artificial Intelligence + Robotics
Morrison & Foerster provides sophisticated, full-service representation to a wide range of clients with companies that both develop and use cutting-edge, rapidly changing technology in the AI and robotics space. Our clients span the spectrum from startups to Silicon Valley industry leaders to global Fortune 100 power players. We work with clients from the earliest stages of development to protect innovations and obtain patent coverage for mechanical devices and robotics, artificial intelligence algorithms, virtual and augmented reality, drone technologies, automation, computer learning, graphics processing, and user interfaces.
Is Law School Your Next Chapter?
A major perk of our Patent Program is our Law School Tuition Forgiveness Program. Registered patent agents who have practiced with the firm for at least 24 months on a full-time basis are eligible for reimbursement of costs related to LSAT study programs or exam fees, up to $1,500, and the entire cost of their part-time law school tuition and required course books in the form of a loan. During the program, we will arrange for you to stay on with the firm on a reduced-hours basis, so you have time to concentrate on your studies and complete your J.D. in as little as four years.
Ready to Apply?
Candidates for MoFo student programs must show entrepreneurial spirit, drive, and confidence. Our hiring decisions are informed by grades but have never been based principally on them. We look for individuals with academic and other achievements that evidence their talent, motivation, energy, and creativity. If this sounds like you, we invite you to apply for our current patent attorney, patent agent, scientific/technical analyst, patent intern, and patent summer associate opportunities.