Berkeley (Boalt Hall) vs. UCLA ($$) for IP Law. Please help! Forum

[blissfullyunaware]

Berkeley:
-gave me $6000 in financial aid, nothing in grants/scholarships
COA: about 70k/year
-I'm really leaning towards biotechnology patent law as my area of future practice (or at least somewhere in the IP/science field). Obviously for the program Cal would be the better choice as they have the technology certificate as well a lot more options to take classes in that field.

UCLA:
-gave me about $35,000 in scholarship money
COA: about 30k/year
-I looked through their curriculum and I don't see very many classes in this specific area.
-I'm from Southern California, and I definitely want to practice here when I finish law school. My family is here, and my significant other will be here for graduate school as well.

I'm conflicted because I know Cal has the program, but UCLA has the money and the proximity to family and the s.o. Also, my entire COA will be paid through loans, and with interest rates these days student loans do not look so appealing. I'm also worried about job prospects in general from UCLA.

Any opinions?

[NorCalLaw]

Do you have a hard science background?

[antiworldly]

Talking with people who are in the patent field, their consensus was that nowhere has a strong IP focused program. You go to law school to learn the law, not IP law. There will be a smattering of classes everywhere you go, but it'd be foolish to choose a program on that basis alone.

[L’Étranger]

I hate it when posters say "IP Law"

Is it prosecution or litigation that you are interested in? It is a bifurcated analysis based on which of the two you are interested in:

-->For IP lit: Go to a top school and get good grades just like you would need to get any other type of biglaw job. Getting any biglaw overall is easier from B than UCLA. B gave you essentially no money but UCLA ain't free for you either.

-->For Prosecution: It's primarily about your science background. If you have an advanced degree (i.e. a terminal degree) in a desirable science (i.e. EE, CS, Biochem) from a prominent institution, you should be able to get a biglaw prosecution job even out of a TTT. You might have a few more options from B than UCLA, but with the right science background UCLA would probably be just fine.

[L’Étranger]

Talking with people who are in the patent field, their consensus was that nowhere has a strong IP focused program. You go to law school to learn the law, not IP law. There will be a smattering of classes everywhere you go, but it'd be foolish to choose a program on that basis alone.

Wanted to respond to this too because I am a B alum. Granted the strength of the curriculum at a law school is not going to do a damn thing in terms of job prospects, but the IP lecturers at B are in fact really superb. In particular, Merges and Samuelson are a big deal in patents and copyright respectively, and both give really great lectures.

So I'd say, if you do have an interest in IP, and you end up at B, there are some really good lectures to take in the field.

[blissfullyunaware]

I hate it when posters say "IP Law"

Is it prosecution or litigation that you are interested in? It is a bifurcated analysis based on which of the two you are interested in:

-->For IP lit: Go to a top school and get good grades just like you would need to get any other type of biglaw job. Getting any biglaw overall is easier from B than UCLA. B gave you essentially no money but UCLA ain't free for you either.

-->For Prosecution: It's primarily about your science background. If you have an advanced degree (i.e. a terminal degree) in a desirable science (i.e. EE, CS, Biochem) from a prominent institution, you should be able to get a biglaw prosecution job even out of a TTT. You might have a few more options from B than UCLA, but with the right science background UCLA would probably be just fine.

Sorry, to clarify: I'm interested in prosecution. My science background is a little complicated, I have the required classes to sit for the patent bar, but I switched out of my hard science major to another B.S degree in college.

Should I be realistic and realize that means I don't have a shot at patent prosecution?

I'm open to exploring, (soft IP etc.) I just really enjoy the science side of things and thought this might be a good fit and I wasn't sure if Berkeley would give me the upper hand in that field.

[L’Étranger]

I hate it when posters say "IP Law"

Is it prosecution or litigation that you are interested in? It is a bifurcated analysis based on which of the two you are interested in:

-->For IP lit: Go to a top school and get good grades just like you would need to get any other type of biglaw job. Getting any biglaw overall is easier from B than UCLA. B gave you essentially no money but UCLA ain't free for you either.

-->For Prosecution: It's primarily about your science background. If you have an advanced degree (i.e. a terminal degree) in a desirable science (i.e. EE, CS, Biochem) from a prominent institution, you should be able to get a biglaw prosecution job even out of a TTT. You might have a few more options from B than UCLA, but with the right science background UCLA would probably be just fine.

Sorry, to clarify: I'm interested in prosecution. My science background is a little complicated, I have the required classes to sit for the patent bar, but I switched out of my hard science major to another B.S degree in college.

Should I be realistic and realize that means I don't have a shot at patent prosecution?

I'm open to exploring, (soft IP etc.) I just really enjoy the science side of things and thought this might be a good fit and I wasn't sure if Berkeley would give me the upper hand in that field.

I'm in no way saying that patent prosecution is not possible for you, however, merely being patent bar eligible is likely not going to be sufficient by itself to get a biglaw prosecution job. If you are interested though, I'd really strongly suggest passing the patent registration exam as early as you can and hustling to see if you can clerk for a firm as a patent agent to get some substantive prosecution experience. If you can get substantive prosecution experience before you go through OCI, that will be a HUGE asset. However, getting that substantive experience is easier said then done.

In terms of B v. UCLA, B will give you a definite advantage in terms of biglaw placement, but you'll have to decide if that extra chance at some biglaw is worth the extra money to you or not.

[blissfullyunaware]

Does anyone have any opinions in terms of employment prospects? Is Berkeley worth the extra money in terms of the higher employment numbers?

[BigZuck]

Does anyone have any opinions in terms of employment prospects? Is Berkeley worth the extra money in terms of the higher employment numbers?

Don't make people guess, figure out how much debt you will be in at each. Tuition, cost of living, interest, loan origination fees, projected tuition increases, etc. Not a ballpark guess, use one of the calculators available online and get more precise numbers. It's something you should do for yourself anyway. And then report back with the two numbers once you figure them out.

[blissfullyunaware]

Does anyone have any opinions in terms of employment prospects? Is Berkeley worth the extra money in terms of the higher employment numbers?

Don't make people guess, figure out how much debt you will be in at each. Tuition, cost of living, interest, loan origination fees, projected tuition increases, etc. Not a ballpark guess, use one of the calculators available online and get more precise numbers. It's something you should do for yourself anyway. And then report back with the two numbers once you figure them out.

Cal: 205,000
UCLA: 95,000

[BigZuck]

I think Berkeley is a non-starter at that price.

That's just about my limit for what UCLA is worth but I think it's defensible.

[BiglawAssociate]

Patent work is terrible and one of the "harder" practice areas. HTH.

I'd go to UCLA at these prices because LOL at 205k debt. You want to be a broke ass motherfucker while hating your life?