Life in Tech: The uncommon (and doable) path from engineering to law
By Davis Fehrman, MEng ’22 (MSE)
This life in tech interview is part of a series from E295: Communications for Engineering Leaders. In this course, Master of Engineering students were tasked with conducting an informational interview to learn more about working in tech. They then submitted a written account of the interview, edited and organized to create a clear, compelling narrative.
“After a few years at this engineering firm that offered little vertical movement, he realized that, like many of the circuit-based systems he worked on, he had taken the path of least resistance.”While still working as a researcher, he shopped around and looked at various roles at start-ups, fellowships, and management-oriented positions at engineering firms before “casually” taking the LSAT. With a decent score in hand, he looked more into law and saw that people with STEM backgrounds were highly desired in patent law and related fields. To him, this was a new take on STEM and was the refresher that he was looking for. He could be involved in STEM without being stuck at a bench and had the potential for career growth that he wanted. Something clicked. His interest in engineering had been re-sparked, and his desire for a career with more opportunities for growth had presented itself to him. With newfound vigor, he set his nose to the grindstone and began clerking at a renowned international law firm during his second year at law school. After graduating, he stayed on at the law firm and eventually became a partner, where he bounced between patent litigation and prosecution. His patent work focused primarily on semiconductors, but he continued to do work with MEMS, which he has a fresh interest in since stepping away from his former career. With his unique position as someone who worked in tech before moving to a more observational role, my interviewee made a few points on the transition between the two. Engineers and lawyers work closely with each other, and like in any team, communication is key. Unlike many other lawyers, he could talk to career engineers at a level that would get them to their goals.

Op-ed: From engineering to law — a road for engineers who want to stray from the path was originally published in Berkeley Master of Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.