Is 3/4 of a biology background worth anything in law? Forum

[majnana]

My B.A. is in political science (me and everyone else, I know) but before I took a semester off and switched majors to Poly Sci I did three years as a biology major. I started off strong with general courses and good grades in courses like Anatomy & Physiology, various biology and microbiology courses, and general chemistry. Then I had personal difficulties (death of my mother sophmore year and raising my pre-teen sibling while I was in college) and my course grades spiraled madly until after a semester of D/F's in courses like biochemistry and organic chem II it became obvious to me that I could not handle the demands of a hard science degree at that point in my life (the amount of studying compared to soft sciences is huge, plus labs take up a great deal of your time during the day for very little additional credits).

So... I've gotten into some T25 schools and I am open to and interested in several types of law. I'm very interested in going into health/medical law because of my interest in biology. I am still passionately interested in biological sciences (I keep up on some of the latest news and breakthroughs, I still read popular non-fiction science books, and things like that). WITHOUT turning this thread into a redundant series of admonishments not to go to law school at all (yes, I know how bad the outlook is these days for grads) can any students or attorneys weigh in on whether I can utilize my background in the biological sciences to any advantage in the field of law considering that I never got more than 3/4 of the way through that biology degree? At the time that I switched I was advised that if I wanted to do just one more semester of hard science classes I could graduate with a minor in biology. I didn't do it because I didn't see what advantage a minor in biology would do me with a major in political science (and because it required me to take a semester of calculus, which I desperately wanted to avoid,) but now I'm wondering if it would've proven useful. At this point, on paper I just look like a complete washout from the hard sciences, although I have quite a few hard courses under my belt (although I should also point out that I graduated from UG almost six years ago, so those courses are also far in my past).

Is there any way I can position myself to reap future benefit from my past in the sciences or is the only science background that makes a difference an engineering one (if you desire IP/patent law)? Are attorneys in the healthcare and medical research fields expected to know and understand at least fundamental chem and bio to do their jobs, or does that not even matter? What about environmental law (either on the nonprofit and gov't side, or on sides representing corporations)?

Thanks to anyone taking the time to weigh in!