Patent Law - Can you get your Science Degree after Law? Forum

[justnicholas]

I have always been good with math and numbers and I am currently graduating from undergrad with an Econ degree from a decent school.

I thought about dual majoring in some kind of engineering while in undergrad but knew it would lower my GPA with my ultimate goal being law schools.

Although Patent law might not be my future. I was just curious if you can get a JD and then go back and get say a bachelors degree from a shitty school and take the patent bar?

What would your employment prospects be like?

[BeerMaker]

Yes you could do this. Job prospects are stronger for patent law than other areas. That would be a hell of a lot of schooling. Part-time engineering would take years to complete.

[cutecarmel]

why wouldn't you take the bar right out of law school and then go back to undergrad?

[Agent]

Although Patent law might not be my future. I was just curious if you can get a JD and then go back and get say a bachelors degree from a shitty school and take the patent bar?

Yes.

What would your employment prospects be like?

It would be much more difficult than usual to find work-- you wouldn't be able to take advantage of job fairs and OCI. That said, if you happened to roll the dice on a science degree that turned out to be in demand at the time you finished (these days it would be EE or maybe CS), you might be in decent shape. Still, my guess is that firms would prefer law school comes second, unless they were really hard up for your technical background.

[sharrin7]

Why don't you finish your degree, then go back to get an EE degree or whatever. Only the GPA from your first degree counts toward law school applications, so you won't be effed and you'll have the science background before applying (so you can summer at patent firms and what not).

[justnicholas]

Well I am almost done with undergrad (graduate in June) and already applied to law schools.

My LSAT score was the best out of every test I took so I don't want it to expire on top of that.

I took the calc series, but that is all and even that I would need to review before going into Physics, Chem, CS, and so forth so I am not ready to just jump into that and it would definately take some time (at least a couple years to finish up a second degree).

Its all hypothetical.

Even after you graduate you can use the schools resources right? So I could potentially get a science degree and use the law schools resources to secure a patent job.

[AntipodeanPhil]

Small problem: if you told law schools about your plan while applying, it might negatively affect your application. Presumably, if you go back to school for a BS after your JD, the school would have to list you as 'umemployed' when reporting employment data (since a BS is not a graduate degree). They won't want to admit someone they know they will have to list as 'unemployed' in three years time. Of course, you could just not tell them.

Big problem: if you want a big-law or mid-law job, most of those are filled during 2L and 3L OCIs. You could make use of some of your school's resources after graduation, but you can't participate in 2L and 3L OCIs unless you are 2L or 3L.

Another big problem: law firms don't like interviewing/hiring people who they suspect have tried to find legal employment already and failed - they assume that there must be a reason why the person failed. That is why so many t14 students struggle to get a job during 3L if they are unable to get a 2L SA or got no-offered. If you go back for a BS, law firms might just assume that you tried to get a job and failed.

[09042014]

Well I am almost done with undergrad (graduate in June) and already applied to law schools.

My LSAT score was the best out of every test I took so I don't want it to expire on top of that.

I took the calc series, but that is all and even that I would need to review before going into Physics, Chem, CS, and so forth so I am not ready to just jump into that and it would definately take some time (at least a couple years to finish up a second degree).

Its all hypothetical.

Even after you graduate you can use the schools resources right? So I could potentially get a science degree and use the law schools resources to secure a patent job.

Why would anyone want a patent job so bad that they would do this.

I also believe nobody would hire you if you tried this.

[justnicholas]

I already applied to law schools and have been admitted already. Its not really my plan I was just curious because Patent Law seems like such a strong field in the legal community that I was wondering the ability of being elgible after law school.

I am just trying to keep my options open.

I didn't realize how negatively firms would look at going back to school, I thought it would make you more competitive because you have a better skill set.