Top Law Schools

I have a BS in mechanical engineering and currently work for the patent office. I want to become a patent attorney and am starting the law school application process.

I have a decent GPA and LSAT, but nothing good enough to guarantee a Boalt acceptance letter.

After looking at the US News rankings, I'm wondering if it is better to choose a law school with a high rank and good reputation overall, or a top ranking IP school. Obviously, it is ideal to attend a school with both (like Boalt or Stanford), but I don't know if my numbers are good enough.

Any thoughts, Ken?

The ideal of course is to marry both a great school with a great program, such as Stanford or Boalt for IP. However, this is often not the case.

I generally recommend that applicants pick the best overall school if the difference is great, but if the difference is small, go with a slightly less regarded law school that is strong in your area of expertise.

For example, Santa Clara Law School has a very strong IP program and excellent IP employment prospects due to its being located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Santa Clara Law School is a strong regional law school, but never mentioned as a top 50 law school. If you got in to a top 50 law school in a location you like that does offer some IP classes ( you need a law school that offers at least 3+ IP classes), I would recommend going to that law school over Santa Clara Law School.

However, if you got in to a higher ranked law school than Santa Clara but that is not in the top 50, I would then seriously consider attending Santa Clara Law School over the other one.

Schools with strong IP programs that are good overall but not as hard to get in to as Boalt would be:

George Washington
Cardozo
Boston University
DePaul
University of Houston

Cheers,

Ken

Ken or anyone,

Do you have any thoughts on the University of Akron and their IP program?

.

It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

.

Leeroy Jenkins wrote:

legallyblonde27 wrote:Ken or anyone,

Do you have any thoughts on the University of Akron and their IP program?

What on earth is wrong with you for graveyarding a FOUR YEAR OLD THREAD.

legallyblonde27 wrote:It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

No, no it is not. In any case, even if you had the exact same question, still no. Necromancy is sick and wrong.

legallyblonde27 wrote:It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

Congrats on finding the search button. Now, if you had searched a bit further, you would find that it is not a good idea to go to U of Akron for anything, IP The exception is if you have a job lined up for you already.

I plan on staying in Ohio though. I'm working at a law firm right now and will probably go part-time. Akron has that for me, as well as a strong IP program.

nrj1084 wrote:

legallyblonde27 wrote:It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

Congrats on finding the search button. Now, if you had searched a bit further, you would find that it is not a good idea to go to U of Akron for anything, IP The exception is if you have a job lined up for you already.

Actually, I do.

Bosque wrote:

Leeroy Jenkins wrote:

legallyblonde27 wrote:Ken or anyone,

Do you have any thoughts on the University of Akron and their IP program?

What on earth is wrong with you for graveyarding a FOUR YEAR OLD THREAD.

legallyblonde27 wrote:It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

No, no it is not. In any case, even if you had the exact same question, still no. Necromancy is sick and wrong.

Sorry to bug you. Thanks everyone for answering my questions so informatively.

legallyblonde27 wrote:

nrj1084 wrote:

legallyblonde27 wrote:It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

Congrats on finding the search button. Now, if you had searched a bit further, you would find that it is not a good idea to go to U of Akron for anything, IP The exception is if you have a job lined up for you already.

Actually, I do.

Also, I have searched further and have found others who say that Akron is a great school for in-staters. I merely want to get some more opinions.

All I know about Akron is that I just received an email from them today telling me it's still not too late to apply for admission for the fall. That's kind of sketch.

legallyblonde27 wrote:

nrj1084 wrote:

legallyblonde27 wrote:It's called the search button...and this topic is exactly in line with what I want to know.

Congrats on finding the search button. Now, if you had searched a bit further, you would find that it is not a good idea to go to U of Akron for anything, IP The exception is if you have a job lined up for you already.

Actually, I do.

Wait, so you have a guaranteed legal job lined up for after you graduate? So why not just attend the cheapest school you can get into if all you want is that job?

I just want some opinions on Akron's IP program.

legallyblonde27 wrote:I just want some opinions on Akron's IP program.

It is bullocks. But if you have a guaranteed job, what do you care?

This is the first time I'm hearing Akron and IP in the same sentence. Ohio is not a huge market but they have better schools that could offer you more. Personally, I don't believe in the term guaranteed job I would go to the better school everytime.

haha. I knew this was an old thread when I saw Ken. I'm not sure when the last time he posted was.

,

If I had a job lined up for post-graduation and for summers that was 99% safe (i.e., with a parent or family friend), Akron had offered me full tuition plus stipend, and I had no intention of ever living in any part of the world where people don't call that little strip of grass past the sidewalk "the devil strip", I would be perfectly happy going to Akron.

That's... a lot of ifs, right there. Folks I knew who went there were having trouble finding work as of five years ago. And a brief bit of work on Google and LinkedIn shows that some of these people are still not working in positions titled "attorney" or any variation thereof. I'm not even sure UA places all that well to Cleveland, much less any further afield.

quishiclocus wrote:If I had a job lined up for post-graduation and for summers that was 99% safe (i.e., with a parent or family friend), Akron had offered me full tuition plus stipend, and I had no intention of ever living in any part of the world where people don't call that little strip of grass past the sidewalk "the devil strip", I would be perfectly happy going to Akron.

That's... a lot of ifs, right there. Folks I knew who went there were having trouble finding work as of five years ago. And a brief bit of work on Google and LinkedIn shows that some of these people are still not working in positions titled "attorney" or any variation thereof. I'm not even sure UA places all that well to Cleveland, much less any further afield.

Thanks, I appreciate your response. I don't know if I can put a percentage on how safe the job would be because of the economy right now. (What if the firm I'm working at decided not to hire ANYONE new when I graduated?) I am keeping a realist mind-set on this, don't worry However, I do have a good reputation and great connections from working here. In fact, three of the attorneys I work with graduated from Akron, and they are all excellent attorneys. This is where I come to a cross-roads...because I work with some excellent Akron Law grads, yet some people on here are saying Akron is such a bad school.

Are the people you know who went to Akron trying to find jobs in the Northeast Ohio area?

Further, I would apply to OSU, but they do not have a part-time program, which is really what makes me want to go to Akron, so that I can continue working in the legal field while getting my education.

legallyblonde27 wrote:In fact, three of the attorneys I work with graduated from Akron, and they are all excellent attorneys. This is where I come to a cross-roads...because I work with some excellent Akron Law grads, yet some people on here are saying Akron is such a bad school.

Solution - "bad" schools are less prestigious and their graduates often do not secure high paying or prestigious employment. The education may be fine. But prestige plays a large factor in getting jobs.

HTH

Hello all,

I am not as well aware about law schools as you guys seem to be, and would greatly appreciate feedback on my question. I have a situation similar to that of some of the folks in this discussion thread. I have a 160 LSAT. There is no official GPA figure (I would be applying as an intn’l applicant), and LSAC has given grade ‘A’ after evaluating the foreign transcripts. With a tech background and some work ex in IP, can you suggest what schools to target if I wanted to get in to IP eventually (hopefully, litigation)?

I did see the list Ken posted above, and I went through the descriptions given on TLS. From what I read there:

Houston: Getting outside of Texas seems to be difficult. I don’t know how many IP litigation firms in Texas would be worth considering.
Cardozo: NY city is expensive. Would the higher cost be justified once I am out of Cardozo?
DePaul: Same as above; I will be ending up with a sizable debt.
(GWU and BU cost of attendance might be justified, but I doubt if my numbers are sufficient to get me in.)

Any other suggestions?

Thanks a ton!

Joymin