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Bernard A. Brown II earned a Ph.D. from N.C. State and followed that up with a successful career as an assistant professor of biochemistry and chemistry at Wake Forest University.

But Brown, who goes by Bernie, found himself becoming disillusioned with academia. Although he enjoyed teaching, he found the ongoing battle for funding frustrating. So he began thinking about changing careers.

“When I was in grad school, I had gotten a patent on some of my work from my Ph.D. thesis and had interacted with patent attorneys,” Brown said. “I was intrigued with the combination of science and law. It was always in the back of my mind that if I didn’t continue in science proper I’d consider combining the two.”

He already had the science background. To get a law degree, he enrolled in Elon University’s School of Law, which opened in downtown Greensboro in 2006.

“I thought it would be fun to be part of something just getting off the ground,” said Brown, who began his studies in 2007. “Plus I liked what I had heard about the school.”

Elon’s law school has not only gotten off the ground, it has excelled. The American Bar Association gave the program provisional approval in 2008 and full approval in 2010.

The school currently offers aspiring attorneys four tracks of study: business law, litigation, general practice and public interest law. All students take a core curriculum that they supplement with electives. S. Christian Smith, assistant dean for career services, says many students complete requirements for multiple tracks, thus expanding their employment opportunities.

Brown, who graduated in 2010 with a concentration in business law, took classes related to corporations, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and international business.

“Those have been very useful because often intellectual property and business are linked very closely,” he said.

Students gain legal experience through summer internships and hands-on practice in legal aid clinics, which are conducted under the tutelage of licensed attorneys. In addition, Elon’s Preceptor Program links students and attorneys in mentoring relationships.

Upon graduation, newly minted lawyers can serve in various capacities, says Smith: as clerks for judges; in public interest positions such as Legal Aid lawyers and public defenders; in state and federal government and military positions; as attorneys in private firms; and as business or corporate counsel.

About three-quarters of Elon’s graduates join private firms, Smith said.

Brown is now a patent attorney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem. He cites Elon’s Lawyering, Leadership, and Professionalism course, which all first-year students must take, as being particularly valuable. The course emphasizes self-knowledge, teamwork and leadership.

“That was very a very attractive thing that no other law school in North Carolina was teaching,” Brown said.

Brown, 40, was in his mid-30s when he enrolled at Elon, a fact that he considers an advantage. And he’s not alone. Between 10 and 20 percent of Elon students are older, said Smith.

“Older students can offer a lot to younger students who haven’t worked in the real world,” Brown said. Plus, they usually are more focused and know what they want to get from their studies, he said.

“Second-career students bring a wealth of experience and business knowledge that adds to the academic experience. They tend to perform better,” Smith said

There’s no disputing that law school is tough. But if your impression is that law professors like to humiliate and embarrass students, as in the movie “The Paper Chase,” be assured that Elon’s professors are not like that, Brown said. Yes, they use the Socratic method, but with positive feedback and support replacing humiliation and embarrassment. Law school is definitely hard work and highly competitive, but Brown loved it.

He also loves his second career as a patent attorney.

“If I’d known how much I was going to like it, I may have done it earlier,” he says.

Career Tracks is a monthly feature focusing on education options at public and private schools in the Triad. Have a suggestion? Contact Patrick Collins at 412-5934 or patrick.collins@news-record.com.