Patent Program

Law School Registration

Law school registration is not required for the LPLIP. Only students need to register. 

If you are a law school employee and interested in receiving information about the LPLIP, please email us at law-patentprogram@luc.edu and ask to be added to our mailing list

Student Registration

Online student registration and bidding will begin on Monday, December 14, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. CST and will close on Monday, January 4, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. CST.  

Please stress to your students the importance of registering by the deadline as we will not be able to accept any late student registrations. Every year we hear from disappointed students who miss the deadline. We ask for your help in publicizing this opportunity early and often!

Contact Information
The LPLIP staff can be reached at law-patentprogram@luc.edu.

Student Registration and Bidding

Student registration and bidding for the 2027 LPLIP will open on Monday, December 14, 2026, and will close on Monday, January 4, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. CST. 

Please be mindful of deadlines as late registrations and bids are not accepted.

Student Eligibility
Only Juris Doctor (JD) students are eligible to participate in the LPLIP. Law school graduates, LLM and MJ students, and practicing attorneys are not eligible to participate. It is not required that students be patent bar eligible to register for the program; however, many employers require patent bar eligibility as a qualification for applying for interviews, and most employers strongly prefer patent bar eligible students. For more information on eligibility for the patent bar, please refer to the General Requirements Bulletin from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

We are currently accepting registrations from students graduating from Spring 2028 through Winter 2029. Please register using your current law school class year. If you have any questions, refer to the chart below to determine which class year you should select.

• JD students graduating in May/June 2028 – 2L
• JD students graduating in May/June 2029 – 1L
• JD students graduating in December 2027/January 2028 – 2L
• JD students graduating in December 2028/January 2029 – 1L 

Recent graduates and students who plan to graduate in May/June 2027 are not eligible for the 2027 LPLIP.

How the Program Works

1. Student registration:
   Beginning Monday, December 14, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. CST, students may register for the LPLIP.
2. Student application/bidding period:
   Students may begin reviewing participating employers and hiring criteria, uploading application materials, and applying to employers on Monday, December 14, 2026. All applications are due Monday, January 4, 2027, by 11:59 p.m. CST. Please note that employers will not receive any documents from LPLIP until the application period ends. Students can apply for a maximum of 60 positions. 
   
   ** We are aware that students may not have their Fall 2026 grades back prior to the application deadline. Students will receive additional instructions regarding submitting their Fall 2026 grades if they become available after January 4, 2027.
3. Employer selection period:
   Employers will receive student materials on Wednesday, January 6, 2027. Employers participating in the interview portion of the program will review the materials submitted to them and select the students they wish to interview as well as a list of alternate students to be scheduled in the event of cancellations. Students will not see if they are an alternate on the Flo profile, and they will be notified via email if an interview becomes available.
   
   Please note that some firms elect to participate only in the “Document Collect” portion of the program. These firms will reach out directly to students they wish to schedule an interview with. 
4. Student decision period:
   Students will be able to view their interview invitations beginning Tuesday, January 19, 2027. All interviews are automatically accepted on Flo. Students who wish to cancel one or more of their scheduled interviews may do so from Tuesday, January 19, 2027, until Friday, January 22, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. CST. During that time, students chosen by the employers as alternates will be offered interview slots. 
   
   If you need to cancel an interview after January 22, 2027, please email law-patentprogram@luc.edu as soon as possible.
5. Final interview schedules created:
   Final interview schedules will be available on Tuesday, January 26, 2027.

Contact Information
Please contact the Patent Program Liaison at your law school with any questions.

Employer Registration

Employer registration for the 2027 LPLIP will open on Monday, September 21, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CST and will close on Friday, December 11, 2026 at 4:59 p.m. CST.

Employer registration will remain the same as last year’s program with a single registration fee of $1,000. All registered employers will receive their student material packets on the same day, Wednesday, January 6, 2027. When registering for the program, firms may choose “Document Collect” or “Interview” for each job they post. Employers wishing to add an interview schedule after registration must contact law-patentprogram@luc.edu, no later than Thursday, January 14, 2027.

All employer selections for the interview portion of the program must be submitted to Flo by Friday, January 15, 2027, at 4:59 p.m. CST.

How the Program Works

1. Employers register:
   Employers will complete their registration and pay the registration fee. After payment is completed, your invoice will include a link to Flo where you can create your job posting(s). When creating your Flo Profile, employers will designate which office(s) they are interviewing for, which technical background(s) they are interested in, and their hiring criteria. Firms may also indicate if they plan to conduct interviews prior to the scheduled interview dates. 
   
   Although this year's program is one day, firms may still request multiple interview schedules. Separate interviewers are required for each interview schedule. If you have any questions, please contact law-patentprogram@luc.edu.
2. Students submit their application materials:
   Participating law students see firm information beginning on Saturday, January 31, and are allowed to submit materials to up to 60 potential employers.
3. Employers select students to interview at the program:
   On Wednesday, January 6, 2027 employers will be able to see the application materials of all students who have applied to them. PLEASE NOTE THAT FIRST-SEMESTER GRADES CANNOT BE GUARANTEED BY THE APPLICATION DEADLINE.
   
   Our program is an entirely employer selected – which means that employers choose all the students they wish to interview based on student materials. After reviewing the materials, employers select 16 students per interview schedule and have unlimited alternate selections. Alternates are students to be added to the interview schedule in the event of any student cancellations. Alternate selections are not required but are highly encouraged to maximize employer schedules. Employer selections must be submitted to Flo no later than Friday, January 15, 2027, at 4:59 p.m. CST.
4. Student decision period: From Tuesday, January 19 through Friday, January 22, 2027 students will be able to view their interview schedules and cancel interviews if necessary. If an interview slot is declined by a student, that slot will be offered to a candidate on the firm's alternate list.
5. Interview schedules are created:
   Based on the students' decisions, interview schedules will be created and will be available on Flo on Tuesday, January 26, 2027.
6. Employers attend the 2027 LPLIP Virtually:
   Interviews will take place on Friday, January 29, 2027. Interview schedules run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST. Each interview is 20 minutes long with 5-minute breaks between interviews. There is a lunch break from 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. CST. The LPLIP will host all interviews through Flo.

Contact Information
The LPLIP staff can be reached at law-patentprogram@luc.edu.