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I came to law school, after getting my PhD in the life sciences, hoping to transition into patent law. Now that my 1L year is over and done with, I'm starting to wonder if I made the right decision. Aside from the legal writing courses, I just can't seem to pull off anything higher than a B. After last semester, I talked to few of my professors, and I thought I figured out what the "problem" was. However, based on this semester's grade, I apparently still have no idea what I'm doing.

Anyway, for those with experience/knowledge in the area, how important are law school grades for patent law, particularly in the life sciences? Based on what I've come across so far, it seems as if I had an electrical engineering degree, I wouldn't have to worry. However, I know that the job market isn't as favorable for those with a technical degree in the life sciences. I would hate to pay for additional 2 years of law school and then find out that I'm not employable because of my dismal law school grades.

For what it's worth, I'm doing patent-related work for a local company. It's only been a few weeks, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

What's your class rank like and what school do you go to

rad lulz wrote:What's your class rank like and what school do you go to

This is important. You may have lucked out, patent law is one of the fields that is more forgiving about grades. Especially if you have something desirable that a firm is looking for. You may have not lucked out however, if you are bottom of the class at a T4. Again, this could be counterbalanced by how much real life scientific experience you have.

~T30 and as for class ranking, I'm still waiting for one more grade, but most likely will be around bottom 25-40% (~3.0 to 3.1 GPA).

As for scientific experience, aside from the PhD, I did about 2 years of postdoc before I jumped ship and came to law school.

As mentioned in the earlier post, I'm currently doing patent-focused internship work with a local company for my 1L summer. It's only been a few weeks, but I'm definitely enjoying the work.

I've maxed out my bids for the Loyola Patent Fair. I guess I'll probably have to wait and see how successful I am at Loyola before I make any final decision, but law school has certainly been a humbling experience thus far.

The wife and other family members are of the opinion that I should stick it out. They think that with my PhD, I'll manage to find something, especially since I have fairly decent ties to the Northeast, where many of the patent firms are located. However, the stories about life science PhD scientists not being able to find jobs after law school certainly do not help in calming my nerves.

you already said this, so wait until the loyola patent fair results come out and make your decision. What area of life science is your PhD? There's a difference between bioE or biotech and ecology.

I know a lot about this. Please feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like to chat.