You can be an IP lawyer without a STEM degree. You can even be a patent attorney but only on the litigation side.As others have indicated, to practice before the U.S. Patent Office you must have a science or engineering background, not just a law license. Even in terms of patent litigation, you don't need a science background. Take, for example, Association for Molecular Pathology v. However, no technical background is needed for other areas of patent law such as patent litigation or transactional work. Find more details here. Unlike traditional bar exams, applicants do not need a legal background. Studying intellectual property law provides students with a comprehensive understanding of technology and the skill sets needed to draft patent applications. I have no technical background, but would like to do patent law anyway.