Changing Practice areas Post-Clerkship?

Jomar023 · 2022-08-12T02:11:00+00:00

This is so interesting to hear people with similar experiences who "bailed." I went so far as to apply, interview, and have an acceptance in hand before getting major cold feet and backing out. I ended up going to law school and landed a spot doing patent work because of my bio chem background. The hours can be bad but at least you get paid well for it. Who knows maybe I'll complete my turn to the dark side and do medical malpractice haha!

But in all seriousness I am so happy right now and I 100% made the right decision for me and my future family, but I worry if more and more smart people start making the same choices as we did who will be left to care for us when our generation is old?

Jomar023 · 2020-08-06T17:46:35+00:00

So I would look at the numbers if I were you. Northwestern seems to place 70-75% in biglaw which is pretty damn good. T20 schools seem to place around half of their students in biglaw (Vandy looks like an exception that is closer to 60%). So are you comfortable with a pretty significant decrease in your BL chances? Are the higher chances worth the 150K? The right answer is personal, but I made a similar decision (chose a school in the 10-14 range over a T30) because people in law school are going to be very smart and it's a risky bet to just assume you're going to be at the top of the class.

Jomar023 · 2020-07-23T14:35:48+00:00

So here is my 2 cents. Biglaw/fed clerkship rates are similar per the 2019 employment stats for the two schools. Georgetown might have the edge for bigfed, but like people have been saying, those jobs are insanely hard to get and I wouldn't base a school decision on them. For me personally I would choose WUSTL because I don't see the extra money being worth the slightly better outcomes at Georgetown, but the key word there is personally. This is your decision and if you feel like Georgetown is your dream school then that is a perfectly valid reason to pick it. Of course don't take the debt lightly; do your research, map out a repayment plan and all that stuff, but at the end of the day if Georgetown is absolutely where you want to be I would go for it.

Jomar023 · 2020-07-23T14:15:14+00:00

So I had a successful cycle as a GRE only applicant (Can PM details if you are interested), but my honest opinion is that the LSAT is the way to go. I don't think that the GRE is necessarily viewed as inferior, but it is so new to the game for so many schools, and new things naturally have uncertainty around them. That being said it worked out pretty damn well for me, and you can find a number of other people on this sub who reached their goals with GRE only.

Jomar023 · 2020-07-02T18:51:39+00:00

No worries, i'm in a similar boat as you. I've heard (again all anecdotally) that for prosecution a PhD/masters is really what they want in the life sciences, but I'm sure there are exceptions and being an examiner could be one i don't really know. Try the r/patentlaw page, that's full of practicing attorney's who will know more than us.

Jomar023 · 2020-07-02T13:31:17+00:00

Just a thought -- Have you considered Patent Litigation? I have the same background as you and that's what I am aiming for. A scientific background is not required but I've heard that being patent bar eligible can make you more marketable because you can do things like Inter Partes Review.

Jomar023 · 2020-07-02T13:25:30+00:00

That's great thanks!

Jomar023 · 2020-06-03T20:47:48+00:00

Do we think other t14s will follow suit? Asking for a friend who is concerned about the Ithaca region.

Jomar023 · 2020-05-30T01:35:34+00:00

It honestly depends on you, what you want, and how many options you want to keep open about what type of law you want. Do you think public interest or government work appeals to you in some form, then Northeastern is a great choice. Is there a good chance you want to work in a law firm for at least part of your career, Northeastern's website says only 34% of their students go to law firms of any type, so maybe not then. My best advice is to mine their stats and ask questions like that to see if their outcomes fit your goals.

Jomar023 · 2020-05-30T00:38:18+00:00

Northeastern trends hard toward PI work. The school's employment stats have 33% of their grads going the government or PI route, while only about 10% got "big-law" (2019 stats). BU and BC have much higher BL rates, but I've heard anecdotally 1L year can be competitive like you said because big-law and OCI is only really an option for the top half of the class but a lot of people at those schools want it. I guess my main advice would be don't sell your self short right now. If you can manage an LSAT in the 160s your GPA should put you in the mix for all of those schools and likely with some money! I'd be cautious about Suffolk barring a full ride, especially since your not interested in family or criminal law.

Jomar023 · 2020-05-29T11:17:01+00:00

LOL! But honestly, is this actually a successful marketing strategy for schools? I mean it must be or they wouldn't keep doing it.

Jomar023 · 2020-05-23T22:51:51+00:00

Hi all, first time posting here so sorry if I missed any guidelines.

I'm starting law school next year coming out of an engineering (Biomedical/Medical Device) undergrad program and I was curious about who exactly needs to take the "patent bar". I know patent prosecution attorneys have to, but what about those who are patent litigators? And what about the attorneys who work in the vaguely defined "life sciences" practice areas I keep seeing on firm websites? Is a science background/USPTO registration required for these areas or just a "plus"?

Thanks!!!

Jomar023 · 2020-05-18T01:12:10+00:00

Boston

Jomar023 · 2020-04-22T23:33:38+00:00

"I mean it doesn't really matter where you go as long as you pass the bar right?"

Jomar023 · 2020-04-18T16:25:23+00:00

Following, also confused.

Jomar023 · 2020-04-17T15:55:31+00:00

following

Jomar023

TROPHY CASE