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Hi all,

I'm a 0L attending in the fall, and looking to go into tech IP work. The problem is, I've heard they strongly favor candidates with hard sciences backgrounds, and I graduated with a literature degree. I've been teaching myself languages (mostly python & java... started rails as well) over the past couple years, mostly for fun, and have a strong knowledge of html/css from days long past as a graphic designer. So I have some competency, but nothing credited by an institution, and certainly not enough where I'd feel comfortable applying to a dual MS/JD program. Not to mention nothing in the way of theoretical knowledge.

Has anyone done anything like a second Bachelor's in another subject while doing your JD? I've heard of one person who had a friend who pulled off something like this, but they never got back to me when I asked for advice, and it seems impossible looking at credit requirements. Not to mention I'd presumably have to pay more for the degree.

I realize at some point I'll need to ask individual schools about my plans, but I wanted to throw this out in case anyone had some experience. Thanks!

If you really wanted to do this (very little reason except if you ABSOLUTELY had to do IP) then just take the two years and get your BS before Law School.

The money-cost benefit of this is extremely low. It will marginally increase your chance for a job, but at the expense of 2 more years of debt, 2 less years in the work force, plus interest.

No, you will almost not be able to do a second bachelors in law school. ABA allows 17 hours a semester, plus most of it has to be Law related.

At my school, it's 84 hours to grad, and first year is set up for you. So you have two years to do it. I have 30 hours done at 1L, so 54 to go. The max number of hours I can do is 68, an excess of 14 hours. You're going to probably need in the realm of 60 hours to go from a BA to a BS unless you have significant prereqs (Calc 1, Calc 2, Physics, etc) So you would still be 45 hours short, 3 more semesters.

PLUS, in case you haven't realized, Law school is a bitch with the work load. And grades matter most of all. You start giving short shrift to law classes, you aren't going to do well, and that IP bump would be worthless if you are bottom quarter.

tl;dr No, absolutely not.

dietcoke0 wrote: tl;dr No, absolutely not.

This.

Here's what you do:
1) Do extremely well as a 1L
2) Acquire 2L SA
3) Go into litigation and work to get put on IP matters.
4) Realize that IP is the worst and remember that some guy on TLS told you so 4 years prior.

dietcoke0 wrote:tl;dr No, absolutely not.

Thanks for the response - this is a lot of what I was worrying about. Aside from being logistically impossible, I know things will be hard enough without it. Cool. I should probably just chill out.

KidStuddi wrote:This.

Here's what you do:
1) Do extremely well as a 1L
2) Acquire 2L SA
3) Go into litigation and work to get put on IP matters.
4) Realize that IP is the worst and remember that some guy on TLS told you so 4 years prior.

Ha. Care to elaborate on how/why it's the worst?