Wow, I can't believe that even you, who are from NYC, haven't heard of Cardovo. That does not bode well for applying there! I think I'll focus on Fordham, NYU and Columbia in Big Apple Land.
For my transition from PhD-land to law, I've been trying to gain experience at every avenue and to make connections. For the actual move over, I'm still up in the air due to graduation date (which is why getting a PhD is horrible--you only vaguely know when it will end.) I am considering full-time school and part-time school. I'll likely apply to some of the top schools as a part-timer with the hope that they may have lower admissions standards in that pool of applicants. In that case, I hope that I can get a firm to allow me to clerk...it's not so easy. But school name appears to be the MOST important factor in law school choice and that's what I'm focused on with my apps.
I generally don't think that time off is a good idea but I'm totally hypocritical in saying that because I benefitted from taking time off from academics, myself. I worked for 2 years in a research lab before I realized that I wanted to go into biotech patent law and it was during the 2 years that I even realized biotech IP law existed. In addition, because my research background is critical to getting a PhD, I feel much more mature as a scientist in comparison to my peers who generally have to deal with a steeper learning curve. So the time off helped me academically, gave me direction, and made me more mentally confident.
You don't have this situation. You know what you want to do! That is so great! Use it to your advantage. Were I in your shoes I wouldn't take time off because that is lost money and time. There are only two things you can do with time off IMO: get more experience or take a lot of vacation. If you are working on getting experience, then you are working and it's not really time off. However, if you want to get your thoughts together to apply to schools or whatever, any sort of mental benefit, then it can be helpful. I really enjoyed working in the real world, by the way, but it is not easy to study after a full day of work. And I have to say that I was so tired most Fridays that I eliminated that day from the social calendar. On the other hand, if you are taking a long vacaction, I envy you big time.
Regarding relationships, a lot depends on the personality and the attitude of your wife. At my graduate school there are a lot of married people, including PhDs, MDs, and MD/PhD students who have very little extra time and lots of academic responsibility. I notice that these people become more focused by their family life. While I may play on this forum during my free time, they rush straight home to do family stuff. But their spouses have to be realistic, and you cannot ignore the personality of your wife and child and don't push them too hard. You probably know what they can and can't take--just don't forget that. Also, I notice that relationshps for people who have massive time commitments are better when the students communicate to their spouses exactly what they are up to. It's almost as though they are teaching their spouse what they do in school! I guess that also helps, because everyone who is married seems to do it. It would definitely be beneficial if you can cut your commute time down as much as possible. Going home for lunch could mean a lot!
I should mention that most people in professional schools who are single tend to date other people at their professional schools because they end up having so much in common in time commitments and understanding of those commitments.
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Topic: What is the best route at a career in patent lit (Read 7394 times)
