Question about Patent Law

dadofsam
Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:17:42 +0000

Ingeniero: You can become a patent lawyer without having gone to one of the top law schools. Most of us in the profession did not attend those schools. (by the way, be sure to read the posts in my thread at the top of the board for more information about the profession).

However, before you jump into three years of law school anywhere, you probably should revisit your dream of becoming a patent lawyer and see whether it still really is what you want to do. It’s rare that a high school student would have a real conception of what patent lawyers do and the nature of the law school education that one has to go through to become a patent lawyer. So think it through and, if possible, talk to some patent lawyers and see whether, now that you’ve had some exposure to other subjects that law, especially patent law, is what you want to aim for.

If it is, then what you should do is first select one or more areas of the country that you would like to live in and practice law. Also, note that for chemical engineering, if you’re interested in a corporate job, there are certain areas of the country where there is a greater concentration of such jobs than others - for example, New Jersey, Houston, Philadelphia/Delaware, Chicago, Los Angeles - i.e. where major employers of chemical engineers are located. In those areas, look for local or regional law schools with a good solid reputation, and aim for those. For example, here in the San Francisco area the top schools are Stanford and UC (Boalt), followed by Hastings. However, other good schools include Golden Gate, Santa Clara, USF and UC Davis. Doing well in any of those schools would make you a good candidate for a position in this area (though there are not that many here in chemical engineering). Doing so-so in any law school will not make you a good candidate for anything unless you already have a job opportunity through some other connection.

So if you do go to law school and find it’s to your liking, be sure to do your very best.