Hi, I am a new BEng and have been considering offers to study for a graduate degree in intellectual property in the US/UK. My choice is Pierce Law and Leeds Law.

I wanted to get an LLM/Master degree in IP because it will equip me with an academic credential and necessary skills to pursue in this area, but have been worried about future prospects with the expected (or unexpected) outcome I will end up with (regards to education background, skills, etc.) because I don't know if my personal background (not enough engineering work experience and non-JD/LLB trained) will be useful for any good job opportunities.

Another aspect of the concern is will the school I get a LLM/Master degree ultimately affect my chance of getting into a JD/LLB program in the future? Pierce Law is regarded a leading school in IP but a tier 3 law school in general, and I haven't really read many encouraging comments about Leeds Law's reputation so far.

Can any one provide any advice in these two regards please? Thanks.

I would go with the big name school that might not be as good in IP. I am doing an IP/Trade Regulation LLM at NYU right now. I feel like I've had a pretty good education here and the employers have really warmed up to the big name school on my resume (even in this economy). Franklin Pierce is a great IP school, but unless someone really knows something about IP, they aren't going to appreciate that fact. As such, I would go with the big name school.
Best,
Mike S

@mschuster43,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate to have some feedback from an LLM student who's already on the other side of the career path!

I do realize and agree with you when it comes to seeking for employment in the the legal profession, one of the most important factors (though I am not sure of the precedence emphasized when comparing with other factors such as legal search skills etc.) employers look for is the law school's reputation. But I would hesitate on making a decision because I deem myself going into the IP field in a non-traditional way, being it that I am getting a LLM/Master degree in law ( which I have heard is more or less nonbeneficial if one does not have a JD degree; though I reckon that's true if one was to seek jobs in the big name firms) to couple with only a Bachlor degree in engineering, as it's not Master or PhD in engineering as many firms' employees' education profile posted on their web sites.

My biggest concern is that I feel I will be at a disadvantage in both law and engineering in terms of technical knowlege or skills. Therefore, I would be visualizing my final choice to be the one that would be most beneficial and gives most return-on-investment.

Pierce Law's curriculum is all about teaching the practical skills for people with no legal background to engage in legal affairs, and I surmise Leeds Law's curriculum seems to be theoretical and doesn't focus on teaching the law itself but more treating IP as a debate subject in the context of international governance, in comparison to Pierce. (This is the link to Leeds Law:http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/LeedsLaw/GenericPage.aspx?ID=357&TabID=2&MenuID=29&SubMenuID=175). Please correct me on my interpretation of their courses.

My rationale is that I am not sure if I will further pursue for a JD at this point, and if I don't, I would want to make sure my choice for Pierce/Leeds to be a worthwhile one.

Please share your opinion with me! Thanks!

I think one of the fundamental issues is that I am less informed about the kind of employment opportunities there are in the IP field in North America.

I only know about Patent Attorneys (which for me is nonconsistent with my prospective education background), Patent Agent (which I may sit for IP bar, but the risk of actually securing a job with the exam passage remains unchangeable), Technical Specialist (which needs Master or PhD in science or engineering), and IP search services (which I think I may be more qualified for).Can anyone give me a tip on a web site or ways to do a proper search for employments requiring IP knowledge as an asset?

I've also heard from some uncredited source on internet forum that LLM doesn't do anything to enlighten employment chances (even if with a JD degree). So what is the real purpose for people to pursue for an LLM? (I value the degree of LLM, please don't take me wrong as defaming it if it appears that way)

And also I've heard for people with a similar background like me (BEng+LLM), LLM is a waste of time and money. If that is so, then why would law schools bother to create LLM programs accessible for non-lawyers?

Thanks.