biotechnology, law, and gpa's

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>I'm a biology major / math minor at an ivy in my junior year. When I apply to law school, i'll be in the 3.2-3.3 range (cummulative), which is honors for my major. I have received a few C+'s in some of the earlier math classes, but as I got higher the grades improved.</p>

<p>I've taken around 1-2 humanities courses a semester. My average for these classes is around a 3.8, with one B+. I have no idea what I'd get on the LSAT, but I imagine it would be competitive for top 20, but not phenomenal. </p>

<p>I'm seeking advice from someone who had a similar background and has little interest in most conventional law - i am interested specifically in biotechnology law that requires lawyers with an intensive science background (who also advice and consult biotech startups (such as Ferskos LLC <a href="http://www.bioscilaw.com/)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bioscilaw.com/)&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>I am currently debating between a PhD in the life sciences versus practicing law in the life sciences.</p>

<p>I have a bunch of questions for someone who's tread this path:</p>

<p>Do top law schools let students with lower GPAs in if their majors were heavily curved and more competitive? </p>

<p>If I apply to a law school of a top university as well as the biology department of that university, would that be bad? Would it hurt my chances at both departments? If I were to do this - what strategies would you advise that would diminish the obvious disadvantages of this.</p>

<p>My internship experience has been very lab-oriented - and i have a few good papers under my belt. Should I attempt to focus more on developing "pre-law" experience versus work in the sciences? (ie - for my last summer internship, should I continue intensive work in a lab or should I go for a different flavor)</p>

<p>To what extent do law schools expect that a person will have already decided what type of law they wish to practice? (ie - will they take me seriously coming from such a science-intensive background?)</p>

<p>Thanks for reading this, and especially if you respond! If I'm asking the wrong types of questions, please feel free to enlighten me.</p>

2

<p>I can only answer a couple of your questions.</p>

<ul>
<li>You will be given a little but ONLY a VERY little bit of leeway in terms of your GPA based on your major. Miniscule might be more accurate than a little. </li>
</ul>

<p>*Grad school and law school applications are separate UNLESS you apply for a joint PhD/JD program. Your app to one will have NO effect WHATSOVER on your app to the other. </p>

<p>*Law school don't expect you to know what kind of law you want to practice. People with science backgrounds will be taken just as seriously as anyone else.</p>

<ul>
<li>You don't need to worry about "pre-law" experience to boost your app. You might want to think about getting some though to see if this is really what you want to do. Frankly, to me it sounds as if you are someone who would benefit from working a few years to figure out what you wnat to do, rather than going straight on to law school or a Ph.D. program.</li>
</ul>

<p>Finally, most of the Ivies have good pre-law advisors and have grids. Once you get a LSAT score, these will give you a good idea of where you can get in, because they are specific to your UG.</p>

3

<p>If you decide to go into a life sciences law practice or an intellectual property practice, the name of your law school may take a back seat to the name of the school where you get your science degree, especially an advanced degree. If you think you may want to practice law at some point in these areas, I advise getting advanced degrees in your science. Some law firms will then give you credit - in seniority - for your doctorate or work done in your field before law school. Those practice areas are different in that the substantive background matters as much or more than what you learn in law school.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
I am interested specifically in biotechnology law that requires lawyers with an intensive science background

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You're correct that today clients who want advice in biotechnology law will want their attorney to have an intensive science background, unless he or she has an intensive legal background. So if you are considering that type of career, you will need to obtain an advanced science degree - at least a Master's, and quite likely a Ph.D., to be able to get into the position where you can advise such clients. The top officers of these companies are likely to have Ph.D.s themselves, plus heavy postgraduate research experience, and are looking for similar education in their advisors.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the responses!!</p>

<p>I think I'll ditch the notion of law school for now and focus wholly on pursuing an advanced science degree. I guess I got caught up in the rat race for fast-track professionalism - I also didn't realize it wasn't uncommon for PhD's to persue JD's after graduation instead of a post-doc/industry position.</p>

<p>I sincerely appreciate these responses - it really helps to be told candidly what's a good idea versus the "you should do what you think is enjoyable" responses.</p>

<p>take care.</p>