How do engineering majors fare in law school? Forum

[09042014]

This is really untrue. Damn near all firms that actually hire 1Ls for IP SA's want your UG grades. And they'll ding you for a 2.7. Try for it, but be prepared for a flood of rejections.

2L is a different story. Firms who tend to do mostly patent lit, TEND not to ask for UG grades. And firms who tend to do prosecution tend to care about UG grades still.

ymmv, i guess. anecdotally, i've heard different.

I've heard different from IP firms asking me to send my UG transcript after I applied during 1L.

[lukertin]

I know a lot of fellow engineering majors with this mentality. You try to tell them how to write prose, and they get all snobby like they don't need the help. Just because you can design a nuclear reactor and distribute a report on it to the rest of the company doesn't mean you know how to write well.

yeah every engineer i know has dis mentality, including myself. because its true. prose is bad. i follow 1 basic rule. write in sentences with less than 9 words and each word less than 3 syllabubs. worked out pretty well. got me a jorb, published, called "the best writer ever" by CoA judges, partners at my firm, etc. follow the rule, bro. love it. live by it.

when u edit, think to urself "will a retard reading this understand the point im trying to make?" b/c most profs, partners, and judges, take literally 2-3 min to glance over your 20 page paper/motion/bench memo, therefore reading at a retard level.

This was my impression as well. Legal writing is a joke.

Also, DF is right, IP firms DO care about your UG grades. I had a handful of firms with whom I thought the interview went very well except they asked for UG grades and then I never heard from them again.

[lhanvt13]

I know a lot of fellow engineering majors with this mentality. You try to tell them how to write prose, and they get all snobby like they don't need the help. Just because you can design a nuclear reactor and distribute a report on it to the rest of the company doesn't mean you know how to write well.

yeah every engineer i know has dis mentality, including myself. because its true. prose is bad. i follow 1 basic rule. write in sentences with less than 9 words and each word less than 3 syllabubs. worked out pretty well. got me a jorb, published, called "the best writer ever" by CoA judges, partners at my firm, etc. follow the rule, bro. love it. live by it.

when u edit, think to urself "will a retard reading this understand the point im trying to make?" b/c most profs, partners, and judges, take literally 2-3 min to glance over your 20 page paper/motion/bench memo, therefore reading at a retard level.

This was my impression as well. Legal writing is a joke.

Also, DF is right, IP firms DO care about your UG grades. I had a handful of firms with whom I thought the interview went very well except they asked for UG grades and then I never heard from them again.

What about GP with Ip in them ?

[09042014]

I know a lot of fellow engineering majors with this mentality. You try to tell them how to write prose, and they get all snobby like they don't need the help. Just because you can design a nuclear reactor and distribute a report on it to the rest of the company doesn't mean you know how to write well.

yeah every engineer i know has dis mentality, including myself. because its true. prose is bad. i follow 1 basic rule. write in sentences with less than 9 words and each word less than 3 syllabubs. worked out pretty well. got me a jorb, published, called "the best writer ever" by CoA judges, partners at my firm, etc. follow the rule, bro. love it. live by it.

when u edit, think to urself "will a retard reading this understand the point im trying to make?" b/c most profs, partners, and judges, take literally 2-3 min to glance over your 20 page paper/motion/bench memo, therefore reading at a retard level.

This was my impression as well. Legal writing is a joke.

Also, DF is right, IP firms DO care about your UG grades. I had a handful of firms with whom I thought the interview went very well except they asked for UG grades and then I never heard from them again.

What about GP with Ip in them ?

They normally care less, but not always.

[lhanvt13]

Thanks you guys

[stillwater]

engineers usually do terribly in law school. they get really distracted while taking exams because they start to go all rain man/john nash and start seeing complex streams of numbers, a la matrix, or they see a half-completed math problem on the board and start solving it in their head.

[kyle010723]

You cant use Matlab in law school, it's horrible.

[dood]

You cant use Matlab in law school, it's horrible.

i lold hahaha still loling

[lhanvt13]

You cant use Matlab in law school, it's horrible.

well shit . How will I code my formula of exam perfection ?!

[09042014]

I use a TI89 emulator to calculate tips because I miss it.

[kyle010723]

Now let me Laplace this fact pattern... everything is easier in the s domain said the professor

[lhanvt13]

Now let me Laplace this fact pattern... everything is easier in the s domain said the professor

Those damn demons

[09042014]

I really regretted getting a D+ in Diff eq when I realized that I actually had to know forier transforms for EE classes.

[lhanvt13]

I really regretted getting a D+ in Diff eq when I realized that I actually had to know forier transforms for EE classes.

Haha, I enjoyed diff eq quite a big. I think the math class I enjoyed the most was Numerical Methods where it's just all multi/regression methods in matlab doing missile trajectory analysis and prediction. We got to code "patriot missile" things where we would launch about 10 seconds after the enemy launches a missile at a random speed and random direction XYZ coord and you SHOOT THAT MOFO DOWN.

god damn I sound like a virgin

edit : also, quite a few drinks in currently

[kyle010723]

I really regretted getting a D+ in Diff eq when I realized that I actually had to know forier transforms for EE classes.

Haha, I enjoyed diff eq quite a big. I think the math class I enjoyed the most was Numerical Methods where it's just all multi/regression methods in matlab doing missile trajectory analysis and prediction. We got to code "patriot missile" things where we would launch about 10 seconds after the enemy launches a missile at a random speed and random direction XYZ coord and you SHOOT THAT MOFO DOWN.

god damn I sound like a virgin

edit : also, quite a few drinks in currently

You know what I hate the most about math? Random processes. If something is random, let it be, dont try to calculate it.

also, studying civ pro all night == null productivity; != (coding || circuit_building) where all_nighter == win;

[lhanvt13]

I really regretted getting a D+ in Diff eq when I realized that I actually had to know forier transforms for EE classes.

Haha, I enjoyed diff eq quite a big. I think the math class I enjoyed the most was Numerical Methods where it's just all multi/regression methods in matlab doing missile trajectory analysis and prediction. We got to code "patriot missile" things where we would launch about 10 seconds after the enemy launches a missile at a random speed and random direction XYZ coord and you SHOOT THAT MOFO DOWN.

god damn I sound like a virgin

edit : also, quite a few drinks in currently

You know what I hate the most about math? Random processes. If something is random, let it be, dont try to calculate it.

also, studying civ pro all night == null productivity; != (coding || circuit_building) where all_nighter == win;

I'm liking this nerd talk

[Br3v]

I use a TI89 emulator to calculate tips because I miss it.

Don't know why I stumbled into this thread but this made it worthwhile.

[lhanvt13]

I use a TI89 emulator to calculate tips because I miss it.

TI-89's can carry pdf files.. most amazing discovery ever. screw the Kindle

[lhanvt13]

I use a TI89 emulator to calculate tips because I miss it.

Don't know why I stumbled into this thread but this made it worthwhile.

welcome brethren. you can post anything related to engineering/science/math here. have a blast.

oh on a side note I had some questions somewhere in this thread if you wanna chime in ?

[lhanvt13]

Interviewed (?) a patent attorney that mainly deals with PP yesterday and thought I'd share. Some of the stuff is pretty common knowledge but some stuff new to me so take what you want .

• - prosecution has more regular hours. He works in DC/MD/Nova Boutique and does mainly 9-5.

- The work that comes in to PP is more predictable.
- Lit makes more money in general
- Lit doesn't necessarily need a technical degree though some type of technical background helps.
- Speaking a foreign lang helps. It helps you get on the foreign cases and foreign companies like to deal with their own kind. (PP. idk about lit)
- Speaking a foreign lang needs to include Technical Fluency
- The usual high praise for GW. Unexpected high praise for GMU (apparently GMU is now a pretty strong force in the DMV area.
- iPhone's (i know.. what kind of CS major uses iPhones) get hot as hell after an hour on the phone.

That's the basic gist. Talked about a lot of personal stuff so not sharing those. I might be able to share more through PM

[kyle010723]

Interviewed (?) a patent attorney that mainly deals with PP yesterday and thought I'd share. Some of the stuff is pretty common knowledge but some stuff new to me so take what you want .

• - prosecution has more regular hours. He works in DC/MD/Nova Boutique and does mainly 9-5.

- The work that comes in to PP is more predictable.
- Lit makes more money in general
- Lit doesn't necessarily need a technical degree though some type of technical background helps.
- Speaking a foreign lang helps. It helps you get on the foreign cases and foreign companies like to deal with their own kind. (PP. idk about lit)
- Speaking a foreign lang needs to include Technical Fluency
- The usual high praise for GW. Unexpected high praise for GMU (apparently GMU is now a pretty strong force in the DMV area.
- iPhone's (i know.. what kind of CS major uses iPhones) get hot as hell after an hour on the phone.

That's the basic gist. Talked about a lot of personal stuff so not sharing those. I might be able to share more through PM

I had similar discussions when I talked with patent attorneys and professors in IP. I am personally inclined by lit and enjoyed my experience in oral advocacy. But from what I was told, it is better to start with pro if you can. The experience you gain as a pro will help you tremendously as a litigator if you later switch to lit. And from a supply/demand stand point, its easier to get a pro job because it requires technical degree, whereas everyone without one will be fighting for a lit job.

Also, you can carry the skill you learn from pro and go in house, go to another firm, set up your own shop, or switch from prosecution to transactional practice (which is what I would like to do, portfolio management, licensing, etc). With litigation, you become a litigation specialist, which is much less portable than pro; you can go from firm to firm, but while most in house need pro, lit is usually outsourced.

The bottom line is if you are a strong oralist, by all mean become a litigator. But with exit strategy in mind, prosecutor seems much more portable.