Intellectual Property Law
Hello. I am currently an undergraduate student studying BSc (Hons) Mathematics. Ultimately I've been opting for computing-related modules throughout my degree and I planned to then hopefully pursue a technology-related masters.
However, over the past year, I seem to have changed my mind for several reasons. I realised that my goals aligned more with becoming a lawyer. After thoroughly researching the different paths a lawyer can take, I understand that my mathematics degree may be 'undesirable'. But having said that, I still want to see if there is a possibility of making it into IP as a patent attorney.
From what I've seen, having a STEM-related background is highly sought after in Intellectual Property Law, that being technical degrees in areas where patents can be taken; such as Engineering, Chemistry, Physics... etc - and not Mathematics.
Having considered all this, do you think it is still worth it for me to follow the path of becoming a lawyer? Should I continue on with a conversion course or is a degree in Mathematics just generally useless for IP, hence I should stick to my initial path in technology.
Any opinions, ideas or experiences will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
However, over the past year, I seem to have changed my mind for several reasons. I realised that my goals aligned more with becoming a lawyer. After thoroughly researching the different paths a lawyer can take, I understand that my mathematics degree may be 'undesirable'. But having said that, I still want to see if there is a possibility of making it into IP as a patent attorney.
From what I've seen, having a STEM-related background is highly sought after in Intellectual Property Law, that being technical degrees in areas where patents can be taken; such as Engineering, Chemistry, Physics... etc - and not Mathematics.
Having considered all this, do you think it is still worth it for me to follow the path of becoming a lawyer? Should I continue on with a conversion course or is a degree in Mathematics just generally useless for IP, hence I should stick to my initial path in technology.
Any opinions, ideas or experiences will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Original post by intelli
Hello. I am currently an undergraduate student studying BSc (Hons) Mathematics. Ultimately I've been opting for computing-related modules throughout my degree and I planned to then hopefully pursue a technology-related masters.
However, over the past year, I seem to have changed my mind for several reasons. I realised that my goals aligned more with becoming a lawyer. After thoroughly researching the different paths a lawyer can take, I understand that my mathematics degree may be 'undesirable'. But having said that, I still want to see if there is a possibility of making it into IP as a patent attorney.
From what I've seen, having a STEM-related background is highly sought after in Intellectual Property Law, that being technical degrees in areas where patents can be taken; such as Engineering, Chemistry, Physics... etc - and not Mathematics.
Having considered all this, do you think it is still worth it for me to follow the path of becoming a lawyer? Should I continue on with a conversion course or is a degree in Mathematics just generally useless for IP, hence I should stick to my initial path in technology.
Any opinions, ideas or experiences will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
However, over the past year, I seem to have changed my mind for several reasons. I realised that my goals aligned more with becoming a lawyer. After thoroughly researching the different paths a lawyer can take, I understand that my mathematics degree may be 'undesirable'. But having said that, I still want to see if there is a possibility of making it into IP as a patent attorney.
From what I've seen, having a STEM-related background is highly sought after in Intellectual Property Law, that being technical degrees in areas where patents can be taken; such as Engineering, Chemistry, Physics... etc - and not Mathematics.
Having considered all this, do you think it is still worth it for me to follow the path of becoming a lawyer? Should I continue on with a conversion course or is a degree in Mathematics just generally useless for IP, hence I should stick to my initial path in technology.
Any opinions, ideas or experiences will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Being a patent attorney is not the same thing as being an IP lawyer. That is a very important distinction you need to research for yourself to start with. Secondly the reason many patent attorneys (most I think really...) come from technical backgrounds in engineering/biosciences/similar is because they need to understand the technical applied systems that patents are submitted for. Maths (even applied maths) is more about the broader theoretical basis and not the specific technical particulars of a given system. So it's not really as relevant I think, and it's possibly a stretch really to become a patent attorney from that background.
Of course there's nothing stopping you becoming a lawyer (IP or otherwise) with a background in maths - 50% of solicitors polled by the SRA had a non-law background for their original degree, and with the SQE it's not even strictly necessary to do a GDL conversion to become a solicitor (still required to become a barrister). In any event the first step would probably be a practical one - get some work experience in the field to understand if you'd even want to become a solicitor (or barrister). Look for vacation schemes (or mini-pupillages maybe for the bar side...?) and see how you find it in practice to some extent. Pretty sure at least some if not most vacation schemes are open to non-law students as well...?
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