Patent Law - a viable career option?

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>As a biomedical engineering major, a viable career option everyone seems to be talking about is patent law. It seems interesting but I don’t know too much about the field and had a couple questions.</p>

<li><p>What is law school like? How long does it take before I can start working as a lawyer? Is it like a grad school where I start looking for jobs right out of law school?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the work environment like? Will I be working for a law firm or for an engineering company? What is the lifestyle of a patent lawyer like? What exactly would my work entail?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the job security and pay like? I see plenty of threads on CC and other places claiming that lawyers who do not go to the “best” law schools are having trouble finding jobs and those who do are being paid very poorly.</p></li>
<li><p>How useful is a law degree? If I decide I want to switch my career path later into say finance or a related business degree - how easily will I be able to crossover?</p></li>
<li><p>How tough is it to get into a good (top 20) law school? I have a pretty good GPA (3.7) from a top biomedical program (Case Western) and I’m sure with prep I can get a good LSAT score. Is there anything else I can do that will help my chances? I have research in 2 labs and will probably be published in a science journal within this year. Would an internship at an engineering firm help me at all? Any classes I need to take to “prove” myself?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I’m sure I’ll think of more questions but for now this is good…</p>

2

<p>bump 10 char</p>

3

<p>Having both of my roommates being law school students (1st and 2nd year, respectively), and in a top law school (UT Law) I think I can give you a few pointers:</p>

<p>1) Law school is not as horrible as people think. First year's reading isn't too much, if you pace yourself right, there should be about 30 - 60 pages of reading per night. One thing to remember is to never cram - it doesn't work in law school! After graduation, you will have to sit a bar examination (of your state), and if you pass, you will get hired easily, even if you have mediocre grades. (our school has a 99% placement rate right after graduation)</p>

<p>2) I don't know so much about your work environment, it largely depends on what field of law you practice. But i would think that the most likely outcome is you working for a large law firm, and handle cases specially targeted at the engineering industry and patent law related to that. Your work would entail a lot of reading and understanding every detail of the contracts, case, and any related information regarding the case at hand. You'd work long hours at first. But the pay is great :)</p>

<p>3) As I mentioned earlier, the pay is great. </p>

<p>4) A law degree is one of the most useful degree, alongside with MBA. If you are interested in politics, a law degree is the way to go; If you want to take a easier load, then go to a large corporation and head their legal department; if you want to, you can even do an executive MBA. In the end, the money that you're making being a lawyer will open many doors. Whether is be non-profit orgs, investment, open up your own business, politics, etc.</p>

<p>5) To get into a top law school, you need solid academic performance - they'll scrutinize everything on your transcript, from why you took this combination of courses in a certain semester, to why you dropped that course. and also extra-curricular activities are important too. you need to show them that you are able to read and understand vast amount of information, and that you will survive in the law school environment. I think your GPA is great, and if you get a good LSAT, you'll be fine!</p>

<p>A thing that you can do to increase your chances - get to know people that are involved in law school - professors, deans, even deans from your own school, because they'll be the ones who write your letters of recommendation. and more higher up the person who writes your LoR, the better chance you have at getting into law school. Imagine having your school's Dean of Undergraduate Studies write your LoR O_o</p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>