General questions about law school/patent/intellectual property law.

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hey all, </p>

<p>Brand new to the site and already have a lot of questions. I am a junior pursuing an electrical & computer engineering degree with the ultimate goal of going to law school and focusing on IP or patent law (more on that later).</p>

<p>I've been looking at law schools to figure out where I would like to apply and have reached a crossroads. The simple question is: Is it better to attend a top 15 overall law school or a top 15 IP law school? I'm sure you all know these don't overlap.</p>

<p>Next question: Why does there appear to be a huge gap between what patent attorneys and IP attorneys make? When I researched starting patent attorney salaries, I found they were grossly underpaid compared IP attorneys. My basis for this is salary.com (not the best source) in San Francisco.</p>

<p>In my opinion, a science based degree (like engineering or physics) is going to be far more difficult to attain (I don't mean to offend anyone) than, say, English. Is it just more lucrative to focus on IP law? </p>

<p>What I would like to avoid is taking the Patent Bar and limiting my earning potential right out of law school. To me, this sounds silly as I think of it as making me more marketable, but I don't have the knowledge or experience to say definitively.</p>

<p>I don't want to turn this into a "my GPA is this and I think I will get that on the LSAT" discussion, but I do have a little bit of input. Looking at UC Berkeley and Stanford's GPA range, I don't think I will be able to get in, even with a rock solid LSAT score. Most engineering students will attest to the fact that getting A's are a lot harder than it used to be and A-'s destroy your GPA. I am on track to finish with around a 3.6/4.0 so I believe I have a good chance at other top schools pending a decent LSAT score. As I stated above, I just don't know if I should devote my energy to the better overall law schools, or the schools known for IP. Santa Clara University is recognized as the third best IP law school (by US News) yet pretty low standards for acceptance. What is the professional opinion of this university? </p>

<p>Finally, I would like to avoid working in California. I would prefer to be in Texas, Illinois, well... pretty much anywhere but California. Before anyone grabs a pitch fork, it's okay, I can say that, I'm from there. My question is: should I focus on applying to prestigious universities in and around the cities I would really like to work in? Or if I am accepted to schools around the country, do I automatically select the highest ranked school? I am trying not become a slave of rankings, but that's really the only basis I have for determining school quality (perceived or otherwise), however, it doesn't tell me anything about how well it ranks for where I would like to end up.</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post! Thanks in advance for any advice you have to offer!</p>

<p>-James</p>

2

<p>

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My question is: should I focus on applying to prestigious universities in and around the cities I would really like to work in?

[quote]
</p>

<p>Generally, yes.</p>

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</p>

<p>Don’t do it.</p>

<p>

[quote]
The simple question is: Is it better to attend a top 15 overall law school

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</p>

<p>If you can get money, yes.</p>

3

<p>There’s no such thing as a “top 15 IP school.” I know what you’re thinking: “but I’ve seen school rankings for IP!” Those rankings are lies. Your real question should be, from where do IP employers hire? Santa Clara is what we call a “trap school.” It’s designed to look attractive to students (We do IP! We are in Silicon Valley!) while actually offering them very little. You can find out the real information on Santa Clara, and other schools, [url=&lt;a href=“6 Keys to a Stellar Law School Resume - Professional Resume Writers”&gt;6 Keys to a Stellar Law School Resume - Professional Resume Writers]here[/url</a>]. As you can see, they are placing less than half of their students into jobs at all, let alone decent jobs. The best places to go for IP jobs are the same places to go for any other job: the best school available (with some leeway for cash). </p>

<p>EE/CS are the majors currently in demand for IP work. I don’t expect that to change any time soon. To that extent you are desirable. However, if you want Texas you’re going to need ties there. Even with good IP credentials and a good law school/law school GPA Texas can be a hard market to crack into without ties. That said, if you do have ties, they are definitely hiring. Chicago/NY are also doing plenty of IP work. Less so in DC, though there is some. A lot of IP work does happen in CA, although it’s a place like Texas that demands ties.</p>

<p>At this point, you should focus on driving up your GPA. You’re a junior which means you have some time for fluff classes that give As. Take a couple. A few points in your GPA can mean more money down the line. Then, worry about the LSAT. When you have an LSAT score, come back. That’s the point at which you want to strategize schools.</p>