I’m a senior (4th year) Electrical Engineering student at a strong STEM university. I currently have a 3.88 (hoping for a 3.9 soon) and will pursue an M.S.EE as part of an accelerated program next year. I also am very involved all across the university and will hopefully graduate with nearly 1.3 years of internships/co-ops in my field.
I have taken a diagnostic (first ever) LSAT and got a 160. I feel that with studying, i could get a 165+. Honestly, I have always wanted to go to law school and specialize in either constitutional or patent law. Right now, I really would like to attend Cornell or Vanderbilt but my relatives are pushing me for Harvard.
Firstly, could i be a strong candidate (chances?) for these schools and if so, what is a better school for me? Do these institutions like students with my background?
You won't be able to specialize in law school. Even if you could, there are no jobs in constitutional law. Your practice may run up against the constitution (especially if you litigate), but that's about the extent of it.
On the plus side, big firms eat up patent-interested EE/JDs like crazy. Your job prospects from any T14 should be great.
With #2 in mind, you should apply broadly and go wherever gives you the most money. With a strong set of IP credentials your job prospects won't vary much between, say, Cornell and Harvard (a 165 probably won't do it there anyways), but the money sure will. Stay in the T14 for the recruiting network, go as cheaply as you can, and enjoy graduating debt-free.
With the above said, I notice the distinct lack of a phrase like "I interned at a patent boutique and could see myself doing the work." That's worrying. If you haven't done so, go spend some time in a patent firm and make sure you like it before you devote 3 years to getting there.
Thank you for responding promptly! Firstly, I realize that there isn’t specialization in law school, but I more so meant in the future.
Secondly, i will obviously do the best I can on the LSAT, but what score is high enough? From my understanding, Logic Games is the easiest (relative) to master and i missed the majority of my points there. With that, I hope to improve immensely in the next couple months.
As for the patent law experience, I had the honor of shadowing a relative of mine working in the IP field. He (and others) have been pushing for Harvard and so I thought id ask for more opinions.
@law2be: People tend to see the greatest movement in Logic Games and the least in Reading Comp. I personally recommend taking one of the classes (Testmasters/Blueprint for someone already in the 160s) as logic games strategies really aren’t something you need to learn on your own.
I’m glad you’ve at least seen something in the IP field, but you need to get more in depth than just shadowing. See if your relative will take you on in a minor role. Whether your relative is prosecuting or litigating will make a big difference (especially if you have a preference).
As for Harvard, it’s a very nice law school. It’s got lots of lay prestige. It will wow people at parties, at least until you try and explain what you actually do for a living (law is only sexy on TV). Whether that lay prestige is worth it depends on how much money you have. If you have a quarter million to throw away on a name, go for it. If, like most people, you don’t, your best bet will be going to the lower T14 cheaply. I can’t think of a single major firm that discriminates among law schools when it comes to IP. There simply aren’t enough IP-qualified JDs in the T14 (especially with CS/EE, the most-demanded fields) for firms to get too choosy.
You should definitely apply to Harvard. Why wouldn’t you? I think it’s less likely you should go to Harvard. Go do the LSAT, get a score, maybe get some more experience in IP practice, maybe some real work experience, apply across the T14, get your offers, and then come back.
Haha thank you, again, for your response! My only fear with attending a university like Harvard is the environment. I have a few friends that graduated from HLS and Harvard undergrad and spoke lowly of their cutthroat classmates.
I spoke to a few other sources and from what I hear, institutions with fantastic law programs (while not top 3) cultivate an environment of learning and helping each other out.
I realize that attempting to evade cutthroat attitudes makes no sense going into the field of law, but I wouldn’t like to experience that too much when shaping my first few years as a lawyer/student.
How cutthroat a law school is depends on its rank. The worse the school, the more cutthroat. That’s because at the top most everyone is getting a job. No need to kill off your classmates. At the bottom where jobs and futures are scarce, you need to do everything you can to survive. Maybe HLS used to be that way, but no one I know describes it that way now. All of the T14 are fairly pleasant (except for Cornell where everyone is depressed over living in Ithaca) and collegial institutions.
@law2be, your GPA is exceptional, particularly in your major, which is a very difficult one. I would just focus on the LSAT for whatever time is needed to get in the high 160s or, if possible, the low 170s. You should have some top 10 options and if you have an LSAT score of 170 or higher, you should be a prospect for HLS.
I went to HLS–Demosthenes did not–and I loved it. It’s a huge school and so you can find your niche there and meet any kind of person and have a very enjoyable 3 years. In a smaller law school it might be tougher to find people who you click with. Very few people turn down Yale, HLS or Stanford (except for another of those 3 schools). With your background you’ll have lots of career prospects no matter which top-tier school you attend, but play it safe and try to go to the best school that you get into.
law2be: If you’re looking fir the most money, check into top regional schools in the geographical region you would like to practice. Firms in those regions consider such graduates top potential material - relatively few Harvard/Yale/etc. graduates go into IP law. Consider schools such as Georgetown or George Washington (DC area), UC Berkeley, Santa Clara or Hastings (Bay Area/Silicon Valley), UCLA (Los Angeles), etc.
I couldn’t disagree with the above poster more. The job odds from Santa Clara and Hastings are miserable. (Many at SCU already have jobs and are just adding a JD to go back to their old company, so its numbers are really inflated.)
Do not waste that awesome GPA. Don’t settle for anything less than a 17x, even if you have to take a few months off to study.
Apply broadly.
Attend T14 law school on a huge merit scholarship (or HLS at sticker unless you qualify for need based aid?). Negotiate the offers. Less debt. Win-win.
I agree with bluebayou. A 3.8+ in EE is amazing. Don’t waste it on a second-tier school. Go to HLS, Yale or Stanford, whatever the cost, or another top 10 school at a discount. Study for the LSAT for months if you need in order to ensure a high-160s or low-170s score.
Plenty of HLS alumni go into IP law. I can think of a few classmates who did. Also, some of the country’s IP law superstars went to HLS: Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia, for example.