Top Law Schools

READ BEFORE POSTING IN THIS FORUM wrote: In order to receive the best feedback in this forum, please provide as much of the following information in your original post as possible:

-The schools you are considering
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

TheProdigal wrote:

READ BEFORE POSTING IN THIS FORUM wrote: In order to receive the best feedback in this forum, please provide as much of the following information in your original post as possible:

-The schools you are considering
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

boognish42 wrote:Thanks for the responses, this is definitely helpful.

Jay2716 wrote:Are you patent bar eligible? I know some chem people who aren't.

MidwestLifer wrote:IIRC don't life sciences such as chemistry not really get much of an IP boost unless you have a PhD?

buckiguy_sucks wrote:Did you apply to Northwestern?

boognish42 wrote:

MidwestLifer wrote:IIRC don't life sciences such as chemistry not really get much of an IP boost unless you have a PhD?

Chemistry is not really a life science, the life sciences are derivative of chemistry, just as chemistry is of physics and physics of math.

Anyway, this seems to be faulty tls logic. I asked a partner at a large Chicago firm that does ip litigation this question and he laughed at me, he said almost everyone he knows that prosecuted patents has no more than a bs.

Jay2716 wrote:

boognish42 wrote:

MidwestLifer wrote:IIRC don't life sciences such as chemistry not really get much of an IP boost unless you have a PhD?

Chemistry is not really a life science, the life sciences are derivative of chemistry, just as chemistry is of physics and physics of math.

Anyway, this seems to be faulty tls logic. I asked a partner at a large Chicago firm that does ip litigation this question and he laughed at me, he said almost everyone he knows that prosecuted patents has no more than a bs.

I think that's generally true, and I know very little about IP. I only know two chem people going for IP, and both had to take some physics classes to be patent bar eligible. If your degree is on the USPTOs list, then that's a good start.

The other issue is the more common your science degree is, the less of a boost firms have to give (because there are more of you, and presumably, more of you at good schools who did well. Anecdotally, I know some bio and chem people who are not going for IP, and I know some who struck out. Every EE/CS/PhD I know at my school got a job. It's not that you can't do it, it's just that absent some good work experience you're not going to be a rarity in the same way an engineer is.

Again, this is all from limited anecdotal experience. Just wanted to make sure you've done your diligence before you dive in and find out whether you are IP Secure.

ETA- also, be careful trusting the anecdotes of a partner or two. Probably better than my anecdotes, but lots of practitioners make bad generalizations. Just because most of the people he knows have a b.s. Does not mean most people with a b.s. Can get the job.

boognish42 wrote:

Jay2716 wrote:

boognish42 wrote:

MidwestLifer wrote:IIRC don't life sciences such as chemistry not really get much of an IP boost unless you have a PhD?

Chemistry is not really a life science, the life sciences are derivative of chemistry, just as chemistry is of physics and physics of math.

Anyway, this seems to be faulty tls logic. I asked a partner at a large Chicago firm that does ip litigation this question and he laughed at me, he said almost everyone he knows that prosecuted patents has no more than a bs.

I think that's generally true, and I know very little about IP. I only know two chem people going for IP, and both had to take some physics classes to be patent bar eligible. If your degree is on the USPTOs list, then that's a good start.

The other issue is the more common your science degree is, the less of a boost firms have to give (because there are more of you, and presumably, more of you at good schools who did well. Anecdotally, I know some bio and chem people who are not going for IP, and I know some who struck out. Every EE/CS/PhD I know at my school got a job. It's not that you can't do it, it's just that absent some good work experience you're not going to be a rarity in the same way an engineer is.

Again, this is all from limited anecdotal experience. Just wanted to make sure you've done your diligence before you dive in and find out whether you are IP Secure.

ETA- also, be careful trusting the anecdotes of a partner or two. Probably better than my anecdotes, but lots of practitioners make bad generalizations. Just because most of the people he knows have a b.s. Does not mean most people with a b.s. Can get the job.

Thanks, these are some good points. Do you happen to know where they went to undergraduate for chemistry? I am surprised that a school would grant a BS in chemistry and not require enough physics to meet requirements. I know some schools allow chemistry and biology students to take non-calculus based physics, that is the only thing I can really think of.

pamphleteer wrote:If you're 100% certain you want to practice in Chicago and nowhere else, take the full ride at Illinois.

Are you on hold at Northwestern or actually waitlisted? I would think your numbers should get you in there off hold if you have any post-undergrad work experience. NU at sticker vs. Illinois for free is a more difficult decision but I'd take the full ride at UIUC over sticker at Michigan every time.