Is Law School Really Worth It for Patent Law?

So you’re interested in patent law, but not sure what the next step is? If you’re in North America, you may think you need to go to law school. But is this the right move for you?

What’s the commitment? 💸

1. Time — 3 years of your life

2. Money — $25k-$75k per year in tuition alone

PLUS:

• preparing for and writing the LSAT (more time and $$)

• choosing where to apply and getting application materials together (more $$ to apply)

• getting textbooks and other materials (expensive $$)

• potentially moving for school

Basically, it’s a HUGE commitment to make.

So is it worth it? 🤔

In my opinion, yes, with two assumptions:

1. You are confident you will actually like patent law, and

2. It’s financially doable for you.

In terms of the time commitment ⏳

Patent law is not an easy job and has a steep learning curve. It will take many years to learn how to be a good patent prosecutor and to build up your career. In my view, in the grand scheme of things, 3 years is not that big of a deal, and of course, you also get all the benefits of actually going through law school as well.

However, 3 years is a lot of time to commit to a career you’re not sure about. You don’t want to do 3 years of school then realize in the first week of working that you hate it. So do your best to make sure this doesn’t happen to you.

In terms of the financial commitment 💰

Whether or not you can take on the financial burden of law school is a very personal decision. Most people I know took out loans to go to law school. I relied on savings as well as loans, and worked in the summers to help pay for tuition. I also went to a relatively affordable law school, which helped a lot. There are many scholarships available depending on where you live and which school you go to as well. You will need to balance all this against how much you think you’ll earn after graduation.

The bottom line…

Personally, I felt going to law school was a good choice for me because:

• I wanted an advanced degree,

• I was very sure I would like patent law (and more so than other career options available to me), and

• I could afford it.

And, in hindsight, it was the right decision. I could not have gotten the job I have now without being a lawyer, and I was able to financially recover from law school quickly.

If you’re still unsure about law school…

…stay tuned for next week’s issue — we’re going to be discussing some alternatives to law school!

Thanks for reading this issue of The Patent Pivot! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you. See you next week! 💌