Questions for Patent Attorneys Forum

[PrometheanArt]

I have some questions for Patent Attorneys but I am not sure if this is the proper forum to ask these at so please recommend elsewhere if more appropriate! If you are a patent attorney it would also be nice if you could privately message me responses!

I am concerned about 2 things, the work-life balance and the employability of the field for a mechanical engineer (much more so the former than the latter).

I understand that some big law lawyers may work tremendously hard but I also have not experienced 70 or so hour work weeks before (but many all nighters in college BUT I also don't have a relationship or family either) so I don't know if I would be accepting of this lifestyle or not yet. So my question is, are there stories about the life of a patent attorney (what you do in the morning until night when you go to bed, telling it like a story), concluding with an overall opinion of this lifestyle?

Secondly, should I try to learn some electronics or take special classes or self-teach myself something during my free time during the duration of my internship? I know EE's and Compsci majors are the most in demand for patent attorneys so i was thinking as a MechE I could learn something that would impress Patent Attorney Recruiters. I'm just not sure what to do with my free time honestly. (I won't take LSAT for 2 more years at least so that's not an option and GPA is a nonissue; so basically I am not worried about getting into any law school at all currently. I just would like to know how to increase employability at a patent firm)

[UVA2B]

Not a patent attorney, but this thread has several in both prosecution and litigation. Should be at least somewhat informative.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... ypical+Day