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Law School After Engineering
Note, that opinions laid out here pertain to engineers and scientists because their legal career options are relatively similar.
While I think that engineering degree is more versatile than a law degree and that engineers can more easily switch to another tech, computer or management careers than lawyers, doing law after engineering or science can still make sense because intellectual property legal sector is still growing and hiring new lawyers with engineering or science background.
In fact, we had two former engineers turned law students who received and accepted 60K-70K job offers from law firms while they were in the 2L year of 3rd tier law school. Meaning, they started working for a law firm in the second year of law school. Not bad for job security. The question is – is that what you want?
This portion of the article applies not only to engineers but also to anyone with STEM degrees, except maybe for medical.
Applying to law school with a science degree and then career path for such students is very similar to engineering majors, therefore, the following article applies to both categories equally well. Benefit of law school with a science degree are also very good, just like for engineers. Job prospects are wonderful.
Transition From Engineering to Law School
The transition from engineering to law school is drastic, but you can handle it. The major difference will be that now you will have to deal not with precise concepts, but with the esoterically weird Socratic method of arguing both sides. There is no precision in law – it is all about how to spin the truth.
Engineers in law school may have some suffering due to a lack of academic reading and writing experience because law school exams are about writing. On the other hand, systems thinking may help to pass law exams and bar with flying colors.
Because lack of precision is exactly what made law school easier for some former engineers – my fellow law students. They said in a way it was more difficult, but in another way, law school was much easier because concepts were less complex.
Here is a deal. I am a proponent of paying attention to school rank. If an engineer was accepted to the top 14 law school, then, I think it makes sense to try to obtain a law degree from such a prestigious institution if that is what he or she wants to try.
If going to tier two, three or four law schools, I suggest making sure you get good grades to be more employable after graduation.
But if law candidate’s career is already steaming and blossoming at $100,000+ annual pay and in the presence of career growth or business opportunities, then maybe candidates should think real hard if they want to forgo all that for a career as an attorney.
Particular, one needs to think about money and opportunity cost. Not only engineers will have to forgo 3 years of engineering salary, but they also get into additional law school debt.
So, the loss maybe not, for example, only $120K of student debt, but an additional $180,000 or more in lost wages. That is at least $300,000. The cost of a house or condominium.
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Do you think you can recoup that as an attorney?
On the other hand, one of my ex-MBA classmates who was a management-level scientist-engineer at a huge biotech corporation went to the evening program at a decent second-tier law school in a large city in the US. He worked while in law school and did not have a significant opportunity cost in terms of lost wages.
After he graduated and passed the bar exam, right away he bumped up his salary at least 1.5 times as a patent attorney at some boutique law firm in San Francisco.
He told me later that while it was generally more difficult to make money as an attorney, even as a patent attorney, due to competition for clients, but it was more interesting for him. Go figure. He also gains a few patents for his own inventions while working as an attorney. The gainful experience helped.
Again, these examples from my personal experience could be exceptions to the rule. But I do not know any ex-engineer who would go into law and failed miserably. Probably, it also has to do with the fact that these are usually smart people who excel at work, no matter what the work is.
Studying Law After Engineering – Engineering to Law School
Switching from engineering to law school is not too difficult. Path from engineer to law school is becoming more frequent. And the law also involves logical thinking. Those attorneys with strong logical thinking will win over those who bs in court and in negotiations. All science and engineering people have developed logic.
How to prepare for the transition? Well, engineers may take a couple of intensive reading and writing classes in college or in university, just to get ready to be able to read a LOT and write a LOT and fast.
Other than that, pre-law may be quite helpful, but it is not mandatory. Many of your classmates will be just regular people with liberal art undergraduate degrees, and you will fare fine among them.
Overall, the transition from engineering to law school will not be too hard. But, prepare for a cultural shock. A lot will seem totally weird to your precise mind. Especially arguing both sides without trying to find exactly what is the right decision or solution to a legal problem.
It is easier for an engineer to get into law school these days. Engineering degrees are viewed favorably by law schools because of better employment prospects after graduation. This factor is a plus on your law school application. As long as your LSAT and undergraduate GPA is a good match, feel free to apply to good law schools.
For example, UCLA school of law on its website proudly says they have 12% of former STEM graduates among law students. It is about every 10th person, technically. On the other hand, in my top 10% of the class, I do not think we had any engineers.
Lawyers With An Engineering Background – Engineer Lawyer
NOTE: going to law after another career is all about leverage. If will reach better success if as an attorney you can leverage upon your previous experience, skills, and knowledge.
The world is going tech, and so is the legal industry. Every single law firm I worked for, except abroad, was rapidly moving its operations to new technologies. To the point, that I even have seen people fired because the software would do the trick.
On the other hand, the tech world requires attorneys with a technical background to apply the law properly. I think the tech background will help absolutely any lawyer in the nearest future.
Even to figure out how to implement use next software tool to help practice. Law after engineering may be dirtier business, but an easier type of work.
But, as my friend, formerly biotech top school graduate, then manager at large biotech company, then patent and IP lawyer, said that it is more difficult to make money as a lawyer, but it is more interesting. Maybe – I am only conveying what he said 12 years ago.
Future law practice will combine regular law skills, and new technical skills – it is inevitable. New legal jobs and law areas will be created and will expand in the next 10-20 years. From blockchain to environmental tech, to space exploration – lawyers will benefit from scientific or engineering or mathematical background.
That will translate into good salary and hourly rates, but keep in mind that attorneys work 60-80-hour work weeks, not like a 9-to-5 job. Lawyers’ work-life balance is not good and usually to make good money one has to become a partner or open own law firm.
My first attorney employer boss was a former high-ranking engineer for a large US company. He started with patent law and then switched to immigration. I think he made millions and millions of dollars.
He was business-savvy and had his own TV show on a local ethnic TV channel and went after a specific legal niche where he established credibility.
See the pattern? People who succeed as attorneys usually are already capable of succeeding in other fields. So, if someone sucks at engineering, he or she may also suck as a lawyer, because the law is a competitive field.
It also has something to do with motivation. Some people like to be lawyers and spin the truth, others like to use clear-cut mathematical formulas.
By the way, such a candidate does not have to limit options only to patent law. Such a route is simply the most common and the easiest in terms of career transition.
Lawyers with an engineering background can equally well do anything form civil litigation to tax law. Fields like personal injury and criminal law probably will not be interesting for then, in my opinion.
But I mentioned that one of my employers turned from engineer to immigration attorney and succeeded due to his ethnic background and foreign language skills. He leveraged those for career transition and was obtaining his own clients on a regular basis.
Let’s note that the most successful lawyers are those with business skills and the ability to do PR and sales. Big money is always about being able to find buying clients and selling them or her product or service.
Still, engineering lawyers are in demand and recruiters look for them. Lawyer who is engineer will find a job more easily. Science lawyer too.
Law after engineering career paths
There are different routes to take. The two most major ones are private practice or government jobs. Federal and state governments have multiple regulatory agencies requiring investigatory abilities and specialized technical skills.
Former engineers may find themselves a solid opportunity in such agencies – from federal EPA to nuclear oversight agencies, to construction and environmental state agencies.
Government jobs may pay less overall compared to private practice, but usually, it is a stable job with good benefits and student loan repayment options. In the long term, money may flow better to a patent attorney who is formerly an engineer, but the government also offers some perks and less stressful work environment.
Large fortune 500 companies, especially tech companies (I do not mean companies running dating sites, but more like Tesla, or Facebook) also may have a need for a lawyer with an engineering background for their in-house legal department.
Often some lawyers work for 3-5 years in private practice, obtain necessary legal work experience, and then move on to large companies for a more stable work-life balance and good salary.
Note: you do not have to obtain a law degree to become a patent agent.
Law School After Civil Engineering
The process of turning a lawyer after civil engineering is exactly the same as described above. As to law school after civil engineering – I think the above is equally applicable. If you think you can like being a lawyer, then an engineering background is definitely a good asset.
So, becoming become an attorney after civil engineering is time-consuming, tedious but quite a possible process. The trick is, as always, what to do in order to maximize financial and personal benefit and pleasure from your new – legal – career. And how to find your career path within the law. Find a job, basically.
This experience may be applicable to litigation firms litigating construction, architecture, land use disputes. For example, litigation disputes related to construction or land-use contracts, litigating cases dealing with design and construction defects. Also, zoning and various zoning permits too. Is that what you want to do?
Please note that I do not have exact data on-demand in this area of law. Same with state and federal government agencies – look for agencies dealing in the same area as related to civil engineering.
Software Engineer to Law School – Benefits of Law School After Computer Science
From computer science to law school path. Software engineers are a new type of tech professionals. Who has head about software engineers 25 years ago? Almost no one.
Now, it is one of the most prestigious professions and sought after set of skills. No wonder, that such pros are also in demand in the legal world.
Just like regular engineers, software engineers and experienced programmers can become patent attorneys. The question is why would you do it? Not my business.
Software pros turned lawyers can also be hired in the capacity of technical advisers by law firms dealing with intellectual property. Such a job requires consulting other lawyers in the firm of intricacies and peculiarities of code and programming as related to IP law.
I do have to admit that I think software engineers may have a better work-balance situation than IP lawyers. But they may be lured into law with even bigger salaries.
I mean, it is a matter of opportunity cost. If you can work and get law degree, pass the bar – yes, do all that – and get hired as adviser or lawyer by law firm, then work there for a few years trying to learn as much as you can and see if you can work in that capacity for a long time, then you are good.
If not, at least try to minimize law school debt, repay as much law school debt as possible, and then maybe you can return to your original software engineering capacity.
If any of such newly-minted attorneys get into big law, they should except serious working hours and forget about work-life balance for a few years. Can you handle that? Do you have major family commitments? Are you ready to reduce the time you see your family each week? Then maybe it’s ago.
Software to the law is still relatively a new path, so it is hard to say how transferable are software developer skills to law. I tend to think that regular engineers and scientists still have more options as attorneys.
But as the software industry keeps developing and further branching out into new areas, like blockchain, for example, then there may be even greater need specifically for attorneys with software engineering skills.
CONCLUSION
The good news is that there are plenty of stupid people in law too. Even some lawyers are not that smart as we may think. And smart people who understand well technology and law are very hard to find.
Therefore, such attorneys are more likely to find a job, get assigned cases and are more likely to make a partner in some kind of law firm. But only they work hard, insane hours and consistently deliver voluminous results.
May need to switch a law firm or two for that. But forget about glamorous social life – life will become work and work will become life. Is it worth it? Decide for yourself. Money may be worth it. Life? I’d rather go hiking.
The higher level your engineering, scientific or software skill is, the more likely you will be valuable as an IP attorney. I will retreat throughout this blog that the more previous work experience you have the better it is for your potential attorney career.
Engineering or computer science education is NOT enough (unless it is Ph.D. – PhDs are making a killing as attorneys), law firms are looking for practical experience that can help them win cases from day one.
Nobody trains nobody in law – law is all about sink or swim. This industry is very brutal and non-cooperative. You will be surviving on our own.
Also, attorneys are all about money, frankly. They are very money and business-oriented people. Success in law is all about making money from clients. Therefore, you need to show a very solid practical understanding of the client’s case to justify $250-$450 dollars an hour fee. Or more.
Under any circumstance, you must really like the law practice to be able to succeed there. This is one of those professionals where it is impossible to learn and automate what you do – you must be “present” in mind at all times, or mistakes will be quite unpleasant (think of malpractice lawsuit and potential loss of attorney license).
Let me scare you now rather than you will get a major surprise on your first day of work at a law firm or in the legal department.
Max Feo, JD, MBA, Tax LLM.