Rocket Lawyer is a subscription-based legal services platform that covers everything from LLCs to lease agreements to patents. It is a general legal platform, not a patent specialist. That distinction matters depending on what your invention needs.
How Rocket Lawyer Works for Patents
Rocket Lawyer operates as a marketplace. You sign up for a monthly membership ($39.99/month for premium access), which gives you discounts on legal services and access to document templates. For patent work, they assign an attorney from their network.
The patent attorney fees are separate from the subscription. You pay the monthly membership plus whatever the assigned attorney charges for the patent work. Those attorney fees vary because they depend on who gets assigned to your case.
This means your total cost has multiple components: subscription fees (ongoing until you cancel), attorney fees (variable), and USPTO government fees. If you forget to cancel the subscription after your patent work is done, those monthly charges continue.
The Generalist vs. Specialist Question
Rocket Lawyer’s strength is breadth. Need an LLC formed, a contract reviewed, and a patent filed? One platform handles all three. That convenience is real, especially for small business owners who have multiple legal needs.
The tradeoff is that patents become one item on a long menu. The attorney assigned to your patent application may also handle business formations, real estate closings, and employment disputes. That is a different practice than someone who writes patent claims every day.
Patent applications live or die on technical specificity. The claims need to cover the structural features that make your invention different from everything that already exists. The specification needs enough engineering detail that an examiner can distinguish your invention from prior art. Those skills develop through specialization.
You typically do not get to choose which attorney is assigned to your case through Rocket Lawyer’s network. Some may have deep patent experience. Others may handle patents occasionally alongside other legal work.
What It Costs
| Component | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Rocket Lawyer membership | $39.99/month (ongoing) |
| Attorney fees for provisional | Varies by attorney |
| Attorney fees for non-provisional | Varies by attorney |
| USPTO government fees | $320 provisional (micro entity), $1,600+ non-provisional |
Compare this to hiring a patent agent or small patent firm directly, where you typically get a single flat fee that covers everything (see the patent cost guide for full pricing ranges).
When Rocket Lawyer Makes Sense
Rocket Lawyer works well if you:
- Need multiple legal services beyond patents (LLCs, contracts, trademarks, wills)
- Want a subscription model for ongoing legal questions across different areas
- Prefer a platform experience with a dashboard for managing multiple legal matters
- Have legal needs that extend beyond intellectual property
When to Hire a Patent Specialist Instead
A dedicated patent agent or attorney is usually the better choice if you:
- Have a physical product with mechanical or structural features that need thorough documentation
- Want someone who specializes in patent drafting, not general legal services
- Want flat-fee pricing with no monthly subscription layered on top
- Want direct communication with the person doing the work, not a platform intermediary
- Are filing before a product launch or crowdfunding campaign and need it done right the first time
Common Questions
Is Rocket Lawyer good for patents? It can connect you with an attorney who handles patent work, but patents are one small piece of their broader platform. If your invention has mechanical or structural complexity, you want someone who drafts patents in that space regularly.
How does Rocket Lawyer’s subscription work for patents? The monthly membership gives you discounts on legal services. Patent attorney fees are separate and charged on top. If you forget to cancel after your patent work is done, the monthly charges continue.
What is the advantage of working with a patent specialist? A patent specialist drafts claims and specifications every day for the same type of work. That repetition builds pattern recognition for what examiners look for, what language holds up during prosecution, and where applications tend to be vulnerable. Applicants who use a registered patent agent or attorney are 2.7 times more likely to receive a granted patent than those who file without professional help.