[Career Advice] IP lawyer

as an EE i assume u know how to program.. why dont you just become a highly paid contract programmer...

I talked to an IP lawyer once and they said that industry experience in a field with EE or CS isnt really that important even though intuitively it might be

 

Well I don't believe CS or EE experience directly affects how great or how much you make as an IP lawyer, but don't forget patent bar requires strict science background. That is a huge advantage for someone that already has an EE degree.

I was in your boat years ago, and made that switch. The job prospect of an IP lawyer is great, you won't worry there is no work. But that's precisely something you might want to consider seriously. As an attorney in general, you work your azz half for long hours and make less compared with same hours you work as an hardware engineer.

For me partly it was because of job security as well. I worked in a hardware company(a leading chip equipment testing company) for a number of years. Massive layoffs, and several of my friends did IP law. So I decided I would give it a try. Another factor for me is the prestige.

My advice if you are still young like no later in your mid 30s, go for it. Get as high of a LSAT score as you can, then go to the best school you can.

Good luck.

 

I hear you can make 3k/week as an IP lawyer. But you had to have graduated from UVA.

 

To your question.

Job market for an IP lawyer is fantastic. If you go for big law, starting salary is around 130K-150K. Mid law is probably around 100K. Grades in law school it the key to find a good job. Finishing top 50% in a T-14 school will get you into big law, and top 1/3 in a top 30 school will do that too, then top 25% in a tier 1 school, so on and so forth.

Because of the science background requirement by the patent bar, law students with engineering degree(I had a MS and BS in CS) are as good as gold when graduate, assuming they will be doing IP law.

The toughest thing is to get into a good school. IMHO, any thing less than top 30 is not worth giving up EE career for.

 

3k/week is pretty normal for big law starting job these days. Some firms up the first year salary to 160k/year. And many 2nd year intern in a good school(top20) can make that much a week.

If you can finish in top 25% in a tire 1(top50) or top 10% in a tier 2 school, you have a good shot at regional big law.

 

i don't know who's a bigger EE sell out..the ones that go to IP or I-banking

lol i kid i kid, but that seems to be the trend with my EE buds.

 

IP programing ranking means very little. When comes to hiring, law firms don't give a squat about that. School prestige weighs much more. Law firms are very conservative in hiring, and alumni network plays very important role. UH is close to a tier 3 school. If you can finish in top 10% there, you probably will still have a great future, but that's not a easy task and what if you don't? Go for U.T Austin at very minimum. Set it as a goal when you prepare for LSAT.

 

If one is over 40 and find itself doing same type of work a young college graduate can do, that is trouble. The name of the game is to acquire as much expertise and knowledge as possible in what you are doing. But often that's easy said than done and one has to be in a right situation to achieve that.

What kind of EE work do you do? I used to program drivers on proprietary Unix platforms. That was a very narrow field. I gathered a lot of knowledge only specific to that system and the company wasn't doing well. I realize if the company goes, I will be in a bad situation, possibly has to start over again.

 

I just graduated from a top 10 law school. What I can tell you is that in admissions, undergraduate science and engineering backgrounds are in demand. You'll have a leg up over politics, government, sociology, etc, majors.

A 160K base salary (outside of bonuses) seems a little high, outside of NYC. But 120-140 for big law is the norm right now.

 

Congrats man!

I am going to be starting law school in August.

 

You can do what many people I know did, is work at the USPTO to see if you like IP first, and they pay pretty well. Then if you like it they will pay for law school if you want to go down that path.

 

Hey now. Why don't you get into a top 20 school before you start criticizing UH's ranking. Have you actually looked at the admission statistics for a top 20 school?

Besides, there are plenty of engineers graduating from the UH Law Center that are raking in the dough at big firms and boutiques doing IP work. Compared to other schools in the state, only UT has a real edge when it comes to hiring.

 

All I know is that patent and copyright law has become one of the more disgusting and debilitating aspects of out legal system in the last 10 years.

 

As a former EE, I can offer up one piece of advice: screw law school. Get an MBA. It's two years of non-stop partying followed by a nice little payday.

The work is much more interesting than patent law too!