Intellectual property consultant to legal consultant
An intellectual property consultant already meets 40% of what the legal consultant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.1/ 100
1 How much of what a legal consultant is expected to do is already part of an intellectual property consultant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the legal consultant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A legal consultant role treats 6 of its required skills as things an intellectual property consultant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure law application
- interpret law
- legal terminology
- protect client interests
- provide legal advice
- use consulting techniques
What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A legal consultant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an intellectual property consultant background worth leading with.
- already held negotiate in legal cases communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held present legal arguments communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held interpret law communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held provide legal advice communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held legal terminology business, administration and law
- already held ensure law application assisting and caring
All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the legal consultant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn advise on legal decisions required
- still to learn analyse legal enforceability required
- still to learn identify clients' needs required
- optional, not held consult with business clients optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held manage contract disputes optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held moderate in negotiations optional
- still to learn private law required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held maritime law optional
- optional, not held state aid regulations optional
- optional, not held business law optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held law of non-marital cohabitation optional
- optional, not held legal case management optional
- optional, not held mergers and acquisitions optional
- optional, not held procurement legislation optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
- still to learn compile legal documents required
- optional, not held analyse internal factors of companies optional
- optional, not held analyse legal evidence optional
- optional, not held observe confidentiality optional
- optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
- optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a legal consultant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 private law study this
- 02 advise on legal decisions practise this
- 03 analyse legal enforceability practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held ensure law application skill
- already held interpret law skill
- already held legal terminology knowledge
- already held protect client interests skill
- already held provide legal advice skill
- already held use consulting techniques skill
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held corporate law knowledge
- already held court procedures knowledge
- already held legal research knowledge
- already held negotiate in legal cases skill
- already held present legal arguments skill
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held consult with business clients optional
- optional, not held maritime law optional
- optional, not held state aid regulations optional
- optional, not held analyse internal factors of companies optional
- optional, not held analyse legal evidence optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held business law optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held law of non-marital cohabitation optional
- optional, not held legal case management optional
- optional, not held manage contract disputes optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held mergers and acquisitions optional
- optional, not held moderate in negotiations optional
- optional, not held observe confidentiality optional
- optional, not held procurement legislation optional
- optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
- optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
18 held skills the legal consultant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on licencing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role advise on patents skill
- not needed by the target role apply for patents skill
- not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role create patent draft skill
- not needed by the target role develop licensing agreements skill
- not needed by the target role intellectual property law knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage intellectual property rights skill
- not needed by the target role market research knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor legislation developments skill
- not needed by the target role patents knowledge
- not needed by the target role present arguments persuasively skill
- not needed by the target role provide advice on trademarks skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role security engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role trademarks knowledge
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn private law required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held maritime law optional
- optional, not held state aid regulations optional
- optional, not held business law optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held law of non-marital cohabitation optional
- optional, not held legal case management optional
- optional, not held mergers and acquisitions optional
- optional, not held procurement legislation optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
Other moves recorded from intellectual property consultant
Common questions about this move
Can an intellectual property consultant become a legal consultant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An intellectual property consultant already covers 40% of what a legal consultant is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the legal consultant role treats as required.
What skills does an intellectual property consultant need to become a legal consultant?
5 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is private law.
How hard is the move from intellectual property consultant to legal consultant?
Its learning distance is 57.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.