Should I even consider law? (Patent law)

Graduate School Law School
1

I think I want to go into law. By that I mean that I’m a freshman at an ivy for electrical and computer engineering who has no idea why they chose ECE and can’t imagine a career in it, but who has had a small but existing interest in law. I have 4 more years to think about this (I am planing to do the one year masters in ECE because why not), so I technically have A LOT of time to worry about this, BUT I have some major issues, hence this freaking out. A list of my problems:

First:
The average GPA for engineers here is a 3.0, also ECE is really hard. I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to compete with other students with such a dismal GPA, even if by some miracle I manage to pull of a stellar LSAT score.

Second:
I am taking no classes to do with politics or law, nor do I think I have time to get into a club regarding this. Would this be a big problem?

Third:
I don’t know if the LSAT is something I can prepare for while studying for my other classes. It already takes so much out of me to keep my classes from falling into the C range, will I have even have time to study?

Fourth:
I legitimately know of no one else around me who is prepping for the same thing. My school is huge and I won’t be able to find someone to be of any guidance.

With the above problems (and other problems galore). Is it worth it to even try? I don’t want to put so much effort into something that I can’t attain. I guess what I want is someone to tell me either that I’m crazy and I should just focus on my studies for now, or for someone to give me a bunch of info outlined on how they did it.

2

(Also when I say I don’t have anyone who will be of guidance I don’t mean pre-law kids, there’s a whole association of them. I mean people who are in a similar major who want to become patent lawyers. There are probably some of those too, but they will be hard to find and contact and possibly not have the time to be of assistance.)

3

First: can you minimize the number of ECE classes, and maximize the number of easy non-major classes?
Second: Not a problem.
Third: You should take a year off after college, before you attend law school. It’s important to ace the LSAT so study for it after college or during the summer.
Fourth: Isn’t there a pre-law guidance counselor or the like?
Yes, it’s worth it to try. Patent law is a very good career.

4

First suggestion: stop worrying so much and start thinking.

It may be that ECE is not a good career choice for you. But the other question is why do you want to go into law, whether patent law or otherwise?

If you’re finding the courses too difficult now, imagine how they will be in a year or two. They don’t get less difficult as you move up into more advanced ones.

It’s true that if you don’t get a scientific degree, you could not become a patent attorney - but I don’t sense anything in your post that indicates a serious desire to do that. If you just want to go to law school, then take a major that’s easier for you and also more enjoyable. Any major will do. Join clubs if you wish. But if you don’t feel that ECE is for you, don’t set yourself up for a miserable college life taking courses in it.

5

First of all, freshman year is very, very rough. Been there myself eons ago. You are taking mandatory classes and not really getting your feet wet in your chosen field. It does get better, I promise.

If you think you have some interest in becoming a lawyer, please go sit on some 1L law school classes, talk to the law students (preferably 2L and 3L), and see if this is something that you still possibly see yourself doing after graduation.

Two routes:

  1. If you think patents are what you are crazy about, get your ECE degree and work in the field a little, while looking for “tech spec” positions at law firms. Such positions still exist, and surprise - some law firms will still pay for evening law school for their tech specs/patent agents… especially in the EE/CE fields. In that case, if you are already working for a law firm as a patent agent or a tech spec, you only need an LSAT score just high enough to get into law school in the city where you work.

  2. If you really hate your current classes/major, go for another major. Get a GPA as high as you can get, and then cram for LSAT and go to the best law school you can get into full-time, but as dadofsam said, forget about patent prosecution work without a tech degree (you can still become an IP litigator without a formal tech degree if you are very tech-smart).

Good luck!