<p>I was actually thinking about getting into this field but I really don’t want to do it if it is a full time desk job. There has to be some type of traveling along the line or at least visiting clients. NE1 know?</p>
<p>One of the most traveled people I have ever met is a patent lawyer who works in-house for a multi-national corporation. His employer has engineering sites thorughout the world; he also travels to negotiate licensing agreements.</p>
<p>Most of the patent lawyers I know travel very little, however, particularly early in their careers.</p>
<p>It all depends on whom you work for, what you work on, and whether the company or the client thinks it is worthwhile having you travel, When I worked on the East Coast I used to take frequent trips to Washington to visit the Patent & Trademark Office. Later I had the opportunity to travel to Europe to take part in some patent oppositions there. Other attorneys in the same company had different opportunities to travel, depending on what they were working on. In another position I traveled about once a year to visit laboratories in Texas. When I worked for the US subsidiary of a European company I had occasion to visit the main office from time to time. </p>
<p>In a law firm there usually are fewer opportunities to travel because someone needs to pay for your traveling time. In a company, that is counted as part of your work.</p>
<p>Note that most business travel involves relatively short trips, sometimes as short as one day, staying in hotels and sometimes longer hours than at your office. Sometimes you have a bit of time to enjoy the location you have traveled to; other times not.</p>
<p>Are you asking out of curiousity; because you want to do patent law and would like to travel; or because you would like to do patent law but would also like to have a family, which is tough when work sends you all over the place?</p>
<p>If it’s the latter, some of the posters (thanks for letting me volunteer you) may be able to offer advice and direction in that regards.</p>
<p>I was just curious because at some point in my career, I would like to travel. I just like the idea of being given the oppurtunity to travel. So, who are these other posters that you speak of? And thanks for the info to all who have replied so far…</p>