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How important is it to go to Top school for Patent Attorney?

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 8:48 pm
by pinkitt
I have ECE(mostly EE) and MSEE(but studied more in CS) degree and i am working as a software engineer in silicon valley for 3 years. I'm going to apply this fall but now I am very nervous about LSAT and also now i'm getting worried if I cannot go to any top school.

Everyone in TLS says you should go to (if possible) T14, but does it also apply to patent attorney job? If I go to just tier 1 or 2 school, i will more likely get worse(payment, smaller firm, getting a job or so?) job?

My lawyer friend said if i want to be a patent attorney, schools are less important than other lawyers. Is it true?

1) How important to go to top 14? If i go tier 2 school(if i cannot get in any in tier 1), am i totally screwed? (I already passed patent bar, luckily, if it helps)
2) Another out of this topic question is can I say I'm from EE instead of my current experience is mostly CS?

Re: How important is it to go to Top school for Patent Attorney?

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:12 pm
by rupert.pupkin
My lawyer friend said if i want to be a patent attorney, schools are less important than other lawyers. Is it true?
For patent prosecution, yes.

Re: How important is it to go to Top school for Patent Attorney?

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:14 pm
by Addicted to LSAT
1) My understanding is that if you pass the patent exams you write your own ticket and law school becomes a lot less important. Although you still have to get a job in the first place before the patent exams.
2) Be honest about your experience. Law schools won't be concerned with whether you are CS or EE, they care more about your grades and how you discuss your work experience in your personal statement. It's not that important what area that experience is in but in how you discuss it, what you learned from it, how it led you to law etc.
If you're asking about EE vs. CS for job applications, that shouldn't be too much of a problem either. Once again, be honest but focus on the areas you want to work with.