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Patent examiner vs document review attorney

The differences between patent examiners and document review attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a patent examiner and a document review attorney. Additionally, a document review attorney has an average salary of $81,181, which is higher than the $64,891 average annual salary of a patent examiner.

The top three skills for a patent examiner include patent applications, mechanical engineering and intellectual property. The most important skills for a document review attorney are litigation, complex litigation, and e-discovery software.

Patent examiner vs document review attorney overview

Patent ExaminerDocument Review Attorney
Yearly salary$64,891$81,181
Hourly rate$31.20$39.03
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs2,3639,393
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Doctoral Degree, 60%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

Patent examiner vs document review attorney salary

Patent examiners and document review attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.

Patent ExaminerDocument Review Attorney
Average salary$64,891$81,181
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $119,000Between $48,000 And $134,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Cooley
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between patent examiner and document review attorney education

There are a few differences between a patent examiner and a document review attorney in terms of educational background:

Patent ExaminerDocument Review Attorney
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Doctoral Degree, 60%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringLaw
Most common collegeCornell UniversityStanford University

Patent examiner vs document review attorney demographics

Here are the differences between patent examiners' and document review attorneys' demographics:

Patent ExaminerDocument Review Attorney
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 80.6% Female, 19.4%Male, 56.7% Female, 43.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between patent examiner and document review attorney duties and responsibilities

Patent examiner example responsibilities.

  • Leverage USPTO proprietary information and technical research to evaluate claim inventions.
  • Learned and implement use of new software tools and applications at the USPTO on a regular basis.
  • Provide management assistance to veterans in financial matters and solving issues.
  • Analyze final determination of the competency of veterans and other VA beneficiaries and provide notification of the determination.
  • Review and execute infringement and invalidity analyses for patents relating to telecommunications and call routing in support of major infringement litigation.
  • Draft several patent applications relating to DNA diagnostic technologies.

Document review attorney example responsibilities.

  • Advise client in requirements to achieve and maintain critical FCPA compliance.
  • Manage privilege log development (including extensive line drafting) and final production processes consistent with technical litigation requirements.
  • Complete electronic discovery review and analyze whether the documents are responsive, privilege or non responsive for pending products liability litigation
  • Draft claims of invalidity, injunctions, and appeals.
  • Support litigation teams on various matters, including antitrust and DOJ investigations.
  • Examine discovery production to determine compliance with HIPAA and make redactions when appropriate.
  • Show more

Patent examiner vs document review attorney skills

Common patent examiner skills
  • Patent Applications, 19%
  • Mechanical Engineering, 16%
  • Intellectual Property, 15%
  • USPTO, 15%
  • Interference, 12%
  • Patent Law, 4%
Common document review attorney skills
  • Litigation, 32%
  • Complex Litigation, 7%
  • E-Discovery Software, 6%
  • Law Firm, 6%
  • QC, 5%
  • Attorney-Client Privilege, 5%