What’s in a Name? (Career Path: Patent Law)

If you asked a random Dallasite what they knew about Cistercian the most likely they would respond with “What the heck is a Cistercian?” But say they happened to know about our little institution in the woods of Irving. Then they would probably say that it was a school run by Cistercian monks and that it is good at teaching math and science.

Cistercian is a place where students geek out over things like the beauty of math and the perfect synchronization of the laws of physics. Some dream of going to MIT to study computer science, others plan on going to A&M to become aerospace engineers. Many Cistercian students want to go into the sciences, and that’s a world full of wonderful and necessary vocations. However, if you are a Cistercian students planning on getting an engineering degree in college, let me suggest another career path to look at. Law.

Patent law is one of the most important fields in our legal system. Patent attorneys help protect the rights of inventors. Without them, all the major companies you can think of would have a much rougher time making a profit. Anyone would be able to manufacture iPhones, drugs, and stuffed crust pizza with no way of the owners of the intellectual property being able to stop them. (Yes, there was a patent on stuffed-crust pizza and the owner of it sued Pizza Hut for $1 billion in 1995. You can’t make this stuff up.)

Without the protection of intellectual property, capitalism would have a very hard time flourishing. It’s an important job and we need people to do it. It’s also not a job any lawyer can do. A patent lawyer must pass the patent bar exam and also have a background in the sciences.

Many people still hesitate to go down this path. How could you be a lawyer if engineering was your true love? Well, in patent law you do get to work in the engineering field in a sense. You get to see inventions and ideas, some of which are on the cutting edge of innovation. You get a sneak peek.

Also if you’re a skilled mathematician you might be better at law than you think. Yes, you have to work with people, and understand the nuances of writing, but you must also be logical and precise. It’s all about rules and parameters and being able to analyze them. In fact, the LSAT (the test you take to get into law school) is, more than anything else, a test to see if you can think like a lawyer. It tests your logic and reasoning. A perfect fit for anyone who thinks that 7th Form pre-calculus is a piece of cake or that matrices are fun.

If designing rockets or discovering a new element is your goal, go and do it. The world needs that. You could be the next Stephen Hawking, Steve Wozniak, or Richard T. Newcomb II. But if the law interests you in the slightest, maybe consider becoming a patent lawyer.