Is any law office ok to get an idea if I want to go to Law school? Forum

[PrometheanArt]

Hi. I couldn't find answers to this online so I hope TLS can help me out. I know someone who works for the government at a local office and he is willing to let me visit his office to get an idea if I really want to attend law school. However, I am interested in patent law which is not what he does, but, otherwise, I don't know anyone to help me get an idea if I want to go into patent law or industry. What do people in my situation do that you could share? Thank you in advance!

[anonanonny]

The short answer to your question is no.

You would see a very different picture painted from an attorney employed by the government and a patent attorney from a big law firm, for example. Try and locate some patent attorneys in your area and ask them if you can treat them for lunch or coffee to ask some questions (or even a phone call if they are too busy to meet face-to-face). You can do the same with law students to ask them their experiences in law school. Be sure to inquire about likes/dislikes, things they wish they knew before becoming a lawyer, etc. Many attorneys share similar tasks although the substantive issues they work on are vastly different. Good luck!

[BlendedUnicorn]

Above is true but it's also true that you don't even need to go into a lawyer's office to get a shadowing like experience. Just observe any white collar worker sit in front of a computer and occasionally sit on conference calls to get a sense of the day to day of a firm attorney.

[BlendedUnicorn]

Like I get and admire your desire to gather information and make an informed decision but I don't think going to an office could possibly help especially because ethics/confidence rules mean that you won't be able to see a lot of the substance of the work.