Median at T20 wanting to do patent law

[bitblaster]

I am a prospective student having a 15K/yr scholarship to DePaul and maybe something to Loyola. So if it is much cheaper for me to go to DePaul, is Loyola still a better option because of the PLIP? DePaul has a ranked IP program and, at least on paper, seems stronger for IP than Loyola.

I don't belive you need to go to Loyala to attend the PLIP, I think its just held there, at least thats wthe way it is with other law carear fairs held at other schools.

Yes, PLIP is merely hosted by Loyola, and actually takes place at a nearby hotel.  Students from all schools are welcome, and I did not even notice a particular concentration of Loyola students.  The event should not affect your school decision at all.

[nealric]

While I am not IP bound, my understanding is that firms are often more concerned with your technical than law background for IP (within reason).

Median at T20 could be in good shape depending on technical credentials. An engineering Phd from a good program would be golden. Someone who got a 3.0 in undergrad bio not so much (even with very good law school credentials).

[Jake_MONDATTA]

nealric is right that a good technical background will serve you well in IP prosecution regardless of where you went to law school or how well you did there. In a strict prosecution shop, hardly anybody cares where you went to law school.  That's appropriate since, after all, most of the work can be done by people without law degrees (i.e., patent agents).

However, it's also possible to make up for a rudimentary and unimpressive technical background in IP with a solid legal one. Some aspects of IP litigation don't require a technical background at all.

Of course, the different sets of qualifications, technical and legal, will have different applications. You won't be sending the MIT PhD who grew up in Magnetogorsk and barely speaks a word of english... no matter how brilliant he is... to argue your case in front of a jury any more than you would send some Harvard Law Review schmuck who thinks that kirchoff's law is for calculating duty in negligent torts to take an invention disclosure at JPL.