Acquiring Rights to IP Created While Employed

[anyName]

I worked for a company for several years on a project that resulted in a few patents and a significant amount of intellectual property relating to the prototype. Later, the company decided to exit the relevant industry and thus canceled the project. I am no longer employed by this company but I would like to acquire rights to just the prototype design IP. I should note that IP licensing is very common for this company, both as a provider of licenses and as a licensee. My question is, what is the best way to go about doing this? Should I contact a lawyer first, or would I be able to deal directly with the company's attorneys?

[free9man]

You would be better off hiring a competent IP attorney to handle the negotiations. You can bet they will have one too. If you try to go it alone, you could wind up getting screwed.

[anyName]

Thanks for the response. I absolutely plan on hiring an attorney before signing anything, but I have no idea what to expect in terms of cost. Is there a typical cost structure for negotiating such a contract?