Intellectual Property/Legal

Powering innovation by protecting great ideas

A career in Procter & Gamble's Legal Division offers immediate client contact, sophisticated legal work and the opportunity to grow and develop as a lawyer in a collegial, Fortune 500 business environment.

Intellectual Property Counsel

The IP division at Procter & Gamble is a cornerstone of the company. The foundation of our overall business strategy is superior technology, so protecting our internal investment in intellectual property is critical. Without this, we simply can't succeed. That's why P&G attorneys are part of project teams from start to finish.

Legal

P&G attorneys play a vital role in helping to build the Company's business while protecting its assets, and assuring its compliance with the myriad of laws and regulations that affect a multinational corporation.

Intellectual Property Counsel
As an Intellectual Property attorney with P&G, your duties would include:

Filing and prosecuting patent applications in the U.S. and around the world
Dealing with freedom-to-practice and Intellectual Property validity issues
Counseling clients on Intellectual Property, trade secret and antitrust matters
Participating with outside counsel in Intellectual Property litigation
Negotiating a broad spectrum of agreements, including licensing agreements
Clearing new trademarks for use and registration globally and locally

Summer Associate
The following are the duties our interns complete during the course of their summer:

Patentability opinion or patent strategy
2 Responses or appeal briefs
Patent application draft
Set of claims
Presentation (on a topic related to their work)

Counsel
As a new attorney with P&G, your responsibilities would typically include front line responsibilities for the legal affairs of one of the Company's business units, or front line responsibilities in one of the Company's legal specialty areas, such as environmental law, labor and employment law or patent and trademark law. In short, new P&G lawyers work in a challenging, hands-on environment that requires a sound base of knowledge and outstanding practical problem-solving skills.

Advancement Opportunities

Intellectual Property Counsel
Career progression in the Intellectual Property Division is through a skill-based promotion system, which is rigorous, clear and calibrated. This system rewards skill acquisition and demonstration.

Legal
New attorneys in our Legal Division start with the title of Counsel and are generally hired after a summer internship or through the interview process and typically start immediately after they complete law school or a judicial clerkship. From time to time, lateral candidates, with less than three years experience, are hired. Attorneys who excel are considered for a promotion to Senior Counsel in five to eight years. Individuals with outstanding legal and managerial skills may qualify for promotion to Associate General Counsel. An Associate General Counsel is usually the chief lawyer for a business unit or for an important legal specialty.

Academic Background

Intellectual Property Qualifications
All of our Intellectual Property attorneys have excellent law school records from a cross-section of leading law schools from across the country. For those attorneys who work in the area of patent preparation and prosecution, it is required that our attorneys have a technical undergraduate background (i.e., science and engineering) in order to practice patent law. We also look for well-rounded men and women with an abundance of qualities such as leadership, vision and energy.

Summer Associate Qualifications
Preferred applicants are law students who possess excellent academic records, outstanding oral and written communications and a technical undergraduate background.

Counsel
Qualified applicants will have less than three years of practice.

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