US Patent Attorney — Prosecution & Litigation

$110–125/hr

rate as listed

Workload: ~15h/week
Engagement: Project-based
Location: US
Field: Legal

Review AI-generated US patent prosecution and litigation work product, identifying legal, technical, factual, claim-construction and citation errors. This focused project requires active US bar membership, at least three years of patent practice and completion of the full review set within a defined window.

The work

You will assess model-generated patent work product against defined quality dimensions. Reviews may cover prosecution materials, litigation materials or both, depending on your experience. Day-to-day tasks include annotating errors inline, checking legal and technical analysis, evaluating claim construction and citations, and writing a clear rationale for each judgment.

What the screening covers

Mercor is looking for attorneys with at least three years of US patent prosecution and/or litigation practice, active membership in at least one US state bar, a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school and a technical or scientific degree. Candidates reviewing prosecution work must also be registered to practice before the USPTO. The screen is likely to test specific patent matters you have handled, your ability to distinguish material errors from defensible differences in judgment, and the precision of your written explanations.

Project logistics

The project requires approximately 12–15 hours total, including a short onboarding session, with all assigned reviews completed inside a defined review window. The need is immediate, and the project design requires each participating attorney to finish the full assigned set. The listing does not specify whether the work is remote or fully asynchronous.

Pay band: $110–125/hr

What they look for

Active membership in at least one US state bar
At least 3 years of US patent prosecution and/or patent litigation experience
J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school
Technical or scientific degree in engineering, computer science, life sciences, chemistry, physics or a similar field
USPTO registration for candidates reviewing patent prosecution work
Ability to identify and explain legal, technical, factual, claim-construction and citation errors

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 10 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: This verifies the three-year threshold and determines whether your matter history supports prosecution reviews, litigation reviews or both.
A strong answer: Give a dated practice chronology and quantify the approximate mix of prosecution and litigation work. Name representative responsibilities, such as drafting applications, responding to office actions, preparing claim-construction positions or analyzing infringement and validity.
Where people lose it: Describing a general IP practice without separating patent work from trademark, copyright, licensing or other matters makes the qualifying experience impossible to verify.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.

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