Is law school worth it nowadays?

[Anonymous]

^^ I didn't mean for it to sound like it HURTS that she's a STEM major. Just responding to your question about if it helps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school? I'm not sure your relationship with her / her parents and unfortunately it sounds like if you say anything it may we'll fall on deaf ears but personally I might consider saying something. That said, I think you should approach it once, say what you want to say, and then drop it. Also, you'll need to be careful how you approach it - coming at it from a "she probably won't get into a good enough school" is likely to not be taken well.

I think I'd focus more on what makes her think she wants to be a lawyer, what does she know about what lawyers actually do and what draws her to that, what does she know about the cost of law school / the legal market these days, etx.

It's a hard call. Having gone to law school myself, I think I'd feel obligated to talk it through with a family member considering it at at least make sure they were going in eyes wide open. It's hard to say what place your opinion has here (how it will be received), but biology -> law is an odd path and I'd certainly like to see her thinking about it more first.

OP. She wants to do healthcare law and get involved in hospital administration or public health advocacy. It seems like health policy might be a better/cheaper fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. She wants to do healthcare law and get involved in hospital administration or public health advocacy. It seems like health policy might be a better/cheaper fit.

A law degree is great plan for those jobs. Not the only plan, but certainly a good one.

Sometimes I think people have gone too far down the "law school is terrible!" road. It's a bad idea for many people, but definitely not for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

I've never heard of law schools recruiting undergrads...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

I never said STEM grads can't do well in law school, and as I clarified in my followup comment I wasn't saying it would hurt her. OP was asking if it would be seen as a leg up for her application, and I was responding to that. The skills you need in law school (reading, analytical, lots of writing) are not traditionally ones you use a lot in biology classes. Some of my classmates who had less traditional pre-law majors commented that the transition was particularly difficult for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. She wants to do healthcare law and get involved in hospital administration or public health advocacy. It seems like health policy might be a better/cheaper fit.

A law degree is great plan for those jobs. Not the only plan, but certainly a good one.

Sometimes I think people have gone too far down the "law school is terrible!" road. It's a bad idea for many people, but definitely not for all.

I do not think that the desire to practice healthcare law and getting into a top school are mutually exclusive. Another way to look at it is that a law graduate's healthcare law prospects will be greatly diminished by attending a law school outside of the T14. Or, only 20% of the healthcare law jobs available to T14 grads are also available to T50 grads.

[Anonymous]

depends. do you like law?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

I've never heard of law schools recruiting undergrads...

"Recruit" has a specific meaning in law schools. It's obviously not the same as undergraduate schools "recruiting" athletes or something. It means these applicants are desirable. The school will offer scholarships and the admissions office will spend more time on them, perhaps make phone calls to encourage them to enroll after they are admitted, connect them with professors, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

Not sure an undergrad in Bio will help for law school money or job prospects. It's not advanced enough to be a bonus for patent law (usually firms look for PhDs) and probably not relevant enough for health care law.

I'd encourage a few years working first, then consider law school with a huge grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

Not sure an undergrad in Bio will help for law school money or job prospects. It's not advanced enough to be a bonus for patent law (usually firms look for PhDs) and probably not relevant enough for health care law.

I'd encourage a few years working first, then consider law school with a huge grain of salt.

All the patent lawyers I know (5-6) are STEM majors from undergrad. Some of them are in big law for the $$$ and some are in house at bio tech or pharmaceutical companies making decent money with better quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

Not sure an undergrad in Bio will help for law school money or job prospects. It's not advanced enough to be a bonus for patent law (usually firms look for PhDs) and probably not relevant enough for health care law.

I'd encourage a few years working first, then consider law school with a huge grain of salt.

All the patent lawyers I know (5-6) are STEM majors from undergrad. Some of them are in big law for the $$$ and some are in house at bio tech or pharmaceutical companies making decent money with better quality of life.

+1

I work in BigLaw. Our IP lawyers even want their paralegals to have a science degree. All our IP lawyers have either a bio/chem or engineering background. I see STEM as an advantage for law school (if you're willing to go into a field that it's useful). English/political science majors are a dime a dozen in the law school pool; someone who understands the underlying science of the client's IP is way more valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely does not help that she's a STEM major, that really has nothing to do with law school or the skills valued there. That's a real switch in interests - why does she want to go to law school?

I disagree. Many STEM grads do great in law school, and law schools often recruit them.

Not sure an undergrad in Bio will help for law school money or job prospects. It's not advanced enough to be a bonus for patent law (usually firms look for PhDs) and probably not relevant enough for health care law.

I'd encourage a few years working first, then consider law school with a huge grain of salt.

All the patent lawyers I know (5-6) are STEM majors from undergrad. Some of them are in big law for the $$$ and some are in house at bio tech or pharmaceutical companies making decent money with better quality of life.

+1

I work in BigLaw. Our IP lawyers even want their paralegals to have a science degree. All our IP lawyers have either a bio/chem or engineering background. I see STEM as an advantage for law school (if you're willing to go into a field that it's useful). English/political science majors are a dime a dozen in the law school pool; someone who understands the underlying science of the client's IP is way more valuable.

OP's niece has to get to biglaw before she can worry about leveraging her bio degree for a patent lit position. This is probably why every posted on this thread is advocating T14 or bust. Also, the vast majority of IP litigation positions I see openings for are looking for EE or software, not bio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You all confirmed my fears. I don't imagine her getting into a T10, maybe a T14, but probably somewhere in the 20s. She's a biology major at an okay public school so her grades are probably not up to par. Does it help that she's a STEM major? I feel like she's being too idealistic about this and her parents are being too encouraging. Can I send them articles or is that too passive aggressive?

She has to score >172 on lsat to be considered at a t10. The lsat section on reddit and top law school forum has many tips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. She wants to do healthcare law and get involved in hospital administration or public health advocacy. It seems like health policy might be a better/cheaper fit.

A law degree is great plan for those jobs. Not the only plan, but certainly a good one.

Sometimes I think people have gone too far down the "law school is terrible!" road. It's a bad idea for many people, but definitely not for all.

I do not think that the desire to practice healthcare law and getting into a top school are mutually exclusive. Another way to look at it is that a law graduate's healthcare law prospects will be greatly diminished by attending a law school outside of the T14. Or, only 20% of the healthcare law jobs available to T14 grads are also available to T50 grads.

I did this. I was a bio major from ivy league and applies for joint degree jd/mpH at Georgetown and hopkins. Practiced in big law in nyc. It sucked. I ended up moving to govt and practice securities law niw. Much better quality if life. In retrospect should have just done law school. I got 95% on LSATS so probably could have gotten in to other schools. Education was fine but debt load sucked.