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Hey I'm considering attending cooley law school with a 50% scholarship, which would have me owing about 55k, i don't currently have any undergrad debt or personal debt. I'm a Michigan resident currently working in the engineering field and I'm interested in the weekend program they offer because it fits around my schedule. My undergrad degree is a BS in Electrical Engineering and I have experience in the field of electrical engineering and computer science/IT. I am interested in becoming a patent attorney. I have been reading alot of articles recently about law school not being worth it for a lot of new applicants, considering my background do you think it would be worth while to take on this debt?



Thanks in advance

No. You should not go to Cooley, not ever. No one should go to Cooley. If you really want to be a patent attorney retake the LSAT and go to a law school that is not trying to become the Walmart of legal education.


Unemployed Honors Grad, CCN.

Why do you want to be a patent attorney? With your background I'm thinking you should/are making more money now then you would after graduating from Cooley. In other words it would probably be a waste of time and money.

lovelaw27 wrote:Why do you want to be a patent attorney? With your background I'm thinking you should/are making more money now then you would after graduating from Cooley. In other words it would probably be a waste of time and money.

Just trying to keep my options open down the line, I might not want to keep doing what i'm doing down the line as the years pass, if i'm going to go back to school this is the best time for me to do so. Also IP law is something i have a genuine interest in.

You will not find many (or perhaps any) Cooley supporters on TLS. Do not know the real story except that TLS folks point out the stats from LST where less than a third of Cooley grads find any kind of employment.

Sheffield wrote:You will not find many (or perhaps any) Cooley supporters on TLS. Do not know the real story except that TLS folks point out the stats from LST where less than a third of Cooley grads find any kind of employment.

One reason why: http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/overall2010.html

Also, they keep expanding campuses despite the fact that many/most of their students have a hard time getting any legal job, and charge a lot of money.

Chosen one wrote:I'm interested in the weekend program

Spending 4-5 years is school for a 1 in 3 chance of landing a job paying 50k a year is probably not the best idea. And you may end up owing more than you think because Cooley raises tuition every year, even more than most schools.

Any opinions on U of D mercy or wayne state evening law programs? How much better are the employment chances coming out of there?

Out of curiosity, do any law firms attend Cooley's OCI (assuming they have one)?

Sheffield wrote:Out of curiosity, do any law firms attend Cooley's OCI (assuming they have one)?

Supposedly yes.

Use the following site if you want to find employment stats on law schools: http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/cl ... show=chars

Wayne has a really good reputation in Michigan, but hiring has been weak in the state. A lot of firms that use to hire more from local schools like Wayne have been filling all or most of their classes with T14 grads. Good Luck.

Please do yourself some justice and do not go to Cooley. I wouldn't even want my biggest enemy to make this mistake. Not only will you likely end up unemployed/severely underemployed, you'll be unemployed/severely underemployed with a lot of debt.

So every thread that has "Cooley" in the title, should have an automatic poll with these choices:
1. Terrible troll.
2. Decent troll.
3. Poor naive student.

Obvious troll is obvious

Jews don't let other Jews go to Cooley.

I keep reading on these forums there are to many lawyers and to many lawyers, my two main interest is ip/patent law and healthcare law, is either of those two fields of law over saturated also?

Chosen one wrote:I keep reading on these forums there are to many lawyers and to many lawyers, my two main interest is ip/patent law and healthcare law, is either of those two fields of law over saturated also?

For your purposes, yes. IP/Patent law is one of the only entry-level markets that is expanding but there are still not enough jobs for the number of patent eligible grads, not by a long shot. You are going to be doing yourself a huge disservice going to Cooley because you are giving up a huge plus factor on your resume. Cooley has zero national reach or reach into the major East/West Coast IP markets.

Healthcare law is something that may be expanding for experienced attorneys, but you won't be able to get that experience out of a place like Cooley. Those kids of employers simply don't hire from the school.

If you want to go to law school you need to commit to law school. Take the LSAT, score highly, and then figure out your FT options. A law degree will not expand your current options.

timbs4339 wrote:

Chosen one wrote:I keep reading on these forums there are to many lawyers and to many lawyers, my two main interest is ip/patent law and healthcare law, is either of those two fields of law over saturated also?

For your purposes, yes. IP/Patent law is one of the only entry-level markets that is expanding but there are still not enough jobs for the number of patent eligible grads, not by a long shot. You are going to be doing yourself a huge disservice going to Cooley because you are giving up a huge plus factor on your resume. Cooley has zero national reach or reach into the major East/West Coast IP markets.

Healthcare law is something that may be expanding for experienced attorneys, but you won't be able to get that experience out of a place like Cooley. Those kids of employers simply don't hire from the school.

If you want to go to law school you need to commit to law school. Take the LSAT, score highly, and then figure out your FT options. A law degree will not expand your current options.

Ok I'm going to retake an consider waynestate or u of d.....how much better of a chance of employment do they offer for these two legal fields?

Ok I'm going to retake an consider waynestate or u of d.....how much better of a chance of employment do they offer for these two law fields?[/quote]

Troll

FitterHappier289 wrote:Ok I'm going to retake an consider waynestate or u of d.....how much better of a chance of employment do they offer for these two law fields?

Troll[/quote]

Not sure what you mean, but if thats the way you treat new member's here by name calling that's not cool man

Wow...geez this place seems brutal..why is everyone on edge here?

IP is one of the few exceptions to the hiring market right now. Even people below median at WUSTL have been getting IP Biglaw if they have a hard science background.

With that said, don't go to Cooley. It's reputation is so bad that it will make it impossible for you to get a decent job with that stain on your resume. At least shoot for a better school--with a sizable scholarship. If you can't go to law school without taking out less than $75K in debt, don't go to law school, even with an IP background.

If you come on here and ask about Cooley, people are going to assume you're a flame. That's just the way it is.

ndirish2010 wrote:If you come on here and ask about Cooley, people are going to assume you're a flame. That's just the way it is.

Now i see, but honestly really is that anyway to talk to/welcome new members?

Chosen one wrote:

ndirish2010 wrote:If you come on here and ask about Cooley, people are going to assume you're a flame. That's just the way it is.

Now i see, but honestly really is that anyway to talk to/welcome new members?

Anything to get people not to go to Cooley.