I would appreciate any opinions on my situation.

I graduated with mediocre grades from a second tier undergrad with a BA in Mathematics. I then went to a borderline 2nd/3rd tier law school and finished my first year at top 10%. I then transferred to a borderline 1st/2nd tier law school and graduated a few years ago with mediocre grades. The reason my grades were not stellar is because I had to work fulltime during my entire undergrad and the last two years of law school. However, I am confident that my intellectual abilities are at par or above most T14 top 10% law school graduates. I am sure my last statement will get comments from the peanut gallery. Please just take my intellectual capabilities as a given and evaluate my situation as such. I would like to point out that I took a few engineering classes to qualify for the USPTO and passed it on my first attempt. Also, I have 3 years of general engineering experience at a small/medium size military contractor.

I got a job as a Staff Attorney at a BIGLAW firm after passing the state bar on my first attempt. My firm is a litigation powerhouse that is known for its patent litigation work. My position at the firm is unlike other Staff positions in the sense that I receive great experience. Besides for supervising large document review projects, I have been given the opportunity to research, write, draft, conduct law and motion, and participate in strategy meetings.

My questions are as follows:

1. What are the best LLM programs if I want to focus on patent litigation and I am interested in either (a) getting a BIGLAW associate position or (b) Federal Clerkship? I am open to foreign programs.

2. What are my chances of getting into these programs and how can I improve them?

3. What is the value of me getting an LLM from one of these programs with exceptional grades, publication, and great internship? If it won't get me into Big Law patent litigation practice or Federal Clerkship, will it help with a medium size general litigation firm that has a patent practice? As long as the firm has complex and interesting patent litigation cases, pays within 70-80% of Big Law pay and I have a chance of latering to Big Law after a few years of practice, I do not mind working at medium size firm.

I can imagine some of you saying that I would be better off getting a Masters Degree in Engineer or Science. If I choose that route I have a few questions:

1. Do you think it would be better to get a Second Bach in EE or a Masters in Physics?

2. How important is school prestige when it comes to Science degrees? Would a 2nd/3rd tier state college degree suffice?

3. Have you ever known or heard of attorneys in the patent world that have earned their Graduate degree in Science or Engineering after they got their JD? Is this looked upon with suspicion?

Sorry for the long essay, but I figured if someone was going to give me real good advice, it would be best if I provide as much information as possible. Thank you in advance for all your comments.