Law degree following engineering?

[Supe]

So I've fallen into a pretty significant rut after 5 years with my present company. While I enjoy it at times, my focus and experience is in an industry that's full of perpetual regulation, unfathomable codes and standards, an engineering organization that is at the mercy of Questionable (Quality) Control, and the degree of responsibility and liability bestowed on myself and two other employees weighs down significantly (roughly $30B+ worth of risk). However, the pay is excellent, and the other industries which incorporate my background (welding engineering) are either of no interest to me, or are not remotely on the same plane financially.

Accordingly, I've been questioning whether this environment is healthy for me long term, and if I'm not better off moving down a different path (it should be noted that my degree is not ABET accredited, and have no plans of pursuing a PE at any point).

A significant portion of what I do every day is writing, interpreting, and defending various project specifications, regulatory requirements, and industry Codes and Standards. I would consider it to be my strongest asset, and I enjoy debating and finding weasel words, which is leading me to consider a degree in law, possibly rolling it into patent/forensic law.

Does anyone here have any experience or know of others who have made that transition from engineering to law or some melding of the two? The personal expense would be significant (an estimated $37k/yr, and I would have to pursue strictly on a part-time basis), but at the same time, I'm not sure that it wouldn't be a worthwhile move. More often than not, I question whether I'd even opt to stay in an engineering related field upon completion...

 

[snickerd3]

A couple engineers I know went to law school after graduation to become patent lawyers...they said it was boring beyond all get out. They spend their days explaining things to stupid people...their words not mine.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

One of the smartest people I know (got a 4.0 in ChemE at Rose-Hulman) went to UVA law school right after her undergrad. She is now an IP attorney for Dickstein-Shapiro in Washington DC and making bank. She seems to enjoy it, and I know at least one of her siblings is following in her footsteps. My sister and BIL are also both lawyers, and my BIL does a lot of product liability and negligence suits.

I work with product liability lawyers on a regular basis in my current job. I can put you in contact with some of them if you would like to discuss it in more detail.

 

[MGX]

Two fellow engineers I know went down that legal (patent) road and ended up regretting it. Forensics might be interesting however.

Its a huge investment and employment for lawyers isn't good right now according to the 3 lawyers I know. Several new grads are working in the law library for minimum wage just so the school can claim they're employed and increase their percentages.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

How much materials science was involved in your welding degree? If you could get an MS (minimum) or PhD (preferred) you could probably get a job as a forensic engineer investigating failures of welds or other metal structures. I know we just hired a PhD in chemistry for that very purpose in our lab.

 

[envirotex]

There is a guy here in town who is a petroleum engineer and an attorney. He owns his practice and does very well. They handle everything from patents and IP to petroleum and environmental...

 

[Supe]

How much materials science was involved in your welding degree? If you could get an MS (minimum) or PhD (preferred) you could probably get a job as a forensic engineer investigating failures of welds or other metal structures. I know we just hired a PhD in chemistry for that very purpose in our lab.

Not that much outside of metallurgy-specific courses. The prerequisite courses worry me to some degree, in that I'm approaching that limit where my undergrad credits when I was in school probably can't be carried over anymore.

Because I'm in such a niche field, my options are fairly limited on the engineering front. Ohio State has an ABET accredited Master's program in Welding Engineering that is a fully online curriculum barring roughly two weeks of labs you have to do before graduating, and I've given it serious thought, but it defeats the purpose if that's not the career I want to live out my days in. The legal side is something I could do locally, albeit pricey.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Years ago, I met a guy who was a professional witness in auto accidents. He said that having a law degree would be a big plus in opening avenues for fields of practice, but not so much needed to be a professional witness. He said the PE was required, as were some specific crash damage classes taught out of PA somewhere, and he recommended some accident reconstruction classes, prefereably private and state police/trooper/patrol run classes.

But then he told me that as lucrative as it was, he was getting out of it. When i asked him why, he said, "Do you reallly want to deal with lawyers day in and day out? Do you really want to be privvy to what people will do to folks to try to save or earn a dollar? It will kill your soul."

He started running a buy here-pay here lot. He said it was a lot more ethical.

 

[Peele1]

A part-time law school will take 3-5 years, 3-4 nights a week. It's not easy or quick.

Just remember that most lawyers pay is hourly commission-only. Lawyers who complain that their income is "low" these days are often making only $300 not $400 /hour and only 50 hours per week, not 80... It is a little tougher for recent grads, though if you have experience and a specialty, you should start out at $100k - $150k depending on the field and city.

 

[daedalus34r]

patent law is only useful for technical degrees in chemistry (pharm) or computer science. Anything kind of engineering related to the fields discussed on this forum are not a good background for patent law. To put it another way, what are the major industries where patents require enforcement. NOT civil/mep/structural/etc.

 

[dontlikebeinganeng]

From what I hear:

Expert witness requires many years of experience.

If you're looking into patent law, you need to pass USPTO bar. Registration for most is ABET accredited program or FE. Most patent attorneys wanted nowadays are EE. ChemE is not that common/Chem & biochem is usually phd.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Expert witness requires many years of experience.

I was asked to be an expert witness when my boss had to recuse himself as he was the town engineer of that town when the project in question was approved/built. I had maybe 7-8 years under my belt.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

I am an expert witness. Have an arbitration hearing next Thursday.