What type of post-secondary course does it require to become a patent lawyer?

A patent lawyer in the USA must first have an undergraduate degree in science or engineering (usually, but see note, below), if not also a masters or doctorate. Then he or she must have a JD (juris doctorate), i.e., a law degree. Then he or she must pass a bar exam to be licensed to practice law in one or more states (or other US jurisdiction, such as Washington, DC or Samoa). Then he or she must pass another test, the patent bar exam, to obtain a license to represent clients in administration of patent applications in the US Patent and Trademark Office. Having reached that point is no guarantee that the person would know a valid patent if it bit them in the briefs. That takes many additional years of experience. Note: There are some cases in which an attorney who does NOT have a pure science or engineering degree can be authorized to sit for the patent bar exam, such as having a "minor" in science or engineering, where transcripts show adequate preparation in technology studies. I have personally never met any of those.