McFish wrote:
Hi All
I'm an Australian Lawyer that's currently living and working in London. I am considering b-school but would like your thoughts on the likely target schools in deciding whether it is worth going down this path. Details are as follows:
Me: 27yr old white Australian male
Further details below but a brief summary:
Undergrad: Bachelor of Laws from an unknown (internationally) uni with a GPA of 4.75 (7 point scale). I was working full time during my degree and also finished a 4 year degree in 3.5 years.
Work experience: Real estate agent in family business for 7 years, part time undergrad legal work 2 years, full time Lawyer for 3 years. This includes 1 year managing a team of junior paralegals (6/7 people) and one of the fastest promotions in the firms history. All legal work has been at leading national and international firms.
I also created a start up that ran for 12 or so months. I won a $10,000 grant from a local bank but was unable to raise the capital to take the company further. Company was featured in many leading tech publications (TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Yahoo etc).
GMAT: I am aiming for a 700 based on the practice tests done to date, however have time to try and bring this up.
Extracurriculars: 12 months living and working abroad in London, extensive travel, committee member of industry relevant body in Australia.
Target (in order of preference): HBS, Wharton, Oxford, Cornell (Johnson), UCLA (Anderson) and ASU (Carey)
What do you think my chances are of the above schools? What GMAT do you think I would need to make these schools an option? What are other schools you would recommend?
Detailed background
Education and Qualifications
2012-2013 College of Law - Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice
2010-2012 Queensland University of Technology - Bachelor of Laws
GPA: 4.778 (7 point scale)
Four year degree completed at accelerated pace while working full time
2006 & 2009 Queensland University of Technology - Bachelor of Justice (incomplete)
Withdrew semester 1 2006 and re-enrolled semester 1 2009. GPA for 2009: 5.5
Work Experience
[Silver circle London Law Firm]
Sep-15 – Present
Australian Qualified Lawyer
London, United Kingdom
• Advising institutional client on the on-going asset management of £1.39bn industrial property portfolio
• Drafting and concurrently negotiating 23 commercial leases with an annual rent of approximately £1m (as at 4 January 2016)
• Transitioning from the provision of Australian legal advice to the provision of English legal advice
[Leading international Australian law firm]
May-14 – Sep-15
Associate Brisbane, Australia
• Promoted from Lawyer to Associate on 1 July 2015, being one of the fasted promotions to Associate in the firm
• Managed a team of six people in delivering legal services for the progressive development of four master planned communities (combined end value exceeding $100bn) and two mixed use urban villages (combined end value exceeding $1bn)
• Exceeded key performance indicators for the 2014-15 financial year by up to 120% and received a performance review of ‘exceeds’, being the highest possible rating
• Implemented streamlined conveyancing procedures resulting in a significant increase in profitability of all conveyancing matters
[my own company]
Jan-14 – Jun-15
Director Brisbane, Australia
• Created a startup company for the design and development of the world’s first commercially available door lever with Bluetooth and wifi control
• Winner of the St George Bank ‘Kick Start Your Startup’ competition with a prize of $10,000
• Ran a successful public relations campaign resulting in the Genie Smart Lock being reported internationally in hundreds of publications (including Gizmodo, Yahoo News and TechCrunch)
• Sought out and pitched the investment opportunity to angel investors and venture capital firms and successfully developed relationships with both angel investors and a venture capitalist
[Leading Australian law firm]
Aug-12 – May-14 (full time post-graduation)
May-11 – Aug-12 (part time pre-graduation)
Solicitor Brisbane, Australia
• Promoted from Paralegal to Trainee Solicitor in August 2012 and from Trainee Solicitor to Solicitor in April 2013
• Supervised a Paralegal in the delivery of property conveyancing services
• Advised on the due diligence and acquisition of a $102m shopping centre and the progressive development of a $500m master planned community
• Effectively delegated work to Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and Personal Assistants as appropriate
[Family real estate business]
Aug-06 – May-11 (full time)
May-11 – Aug-12 (part time)
Licensed Real Estate Agent Brisbane, Australia
• Liaised with buyers and sellers in negotiating the sale of investment properties
• Office management including accounts receivable, accounts payable, preparation and registration of employment agreements and general office duties
• Successfully managed full time studies and a full time career
Additional Information
Interests:
• Volleyball – captain of the first VI volleyball team in high school (indoor) and third place U17s at 2005 state championships (beach)
• Bodybuilding – currently preparing for my first bodybuilding competition in June 2016
• Football – social indoor football for a mixed team before leaving Australia
• Travel – travelling through Europe once every month or two with trips booked this year for running of the bulls, sailing Croatia, Le Mans and Oktoberfest
Achievements:
• Appointed as a committee member on the Urban Edge committee for the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Qld) for a term of two years in February 2014
• Winner of the St George Bank ‘Kick Start Your Startup’ competition with a $10,000 prize
• Licensed Real Estate Salesperson (Queensland, Australia)
• Successfully hosted a networking event in 2014 for approximately 40 young professionals in the property development industry and obtained three corporate sponsors for the event
Nationality: Australian national and holder of a renewable UK Residence Permit (work permitted) valid until 22/09/2020. Currently residing and working in London.
Hey dude,
So first of all it's really tough to give a real profile evaluation without a GMAT Because its all guesswork.
Buuut still, you have some cool stuff - Real Estate + Startup + Law = Very good
B-schools tend to LOVE lawyers, especially those with good experience such as yourself.
Your major weakness is your UG school + GPA which can make things tough at Top 5 schools, but if you can hit a 720+ should make you competitive everywhere else.
Also if your family business is ore than a mom + pop affair it could have potential to seriously boost your profile. So feel free to write more about that.
I hope this helps!
And if you have any other questions, let me know!!!
Best,
JF
close
02 Jan 2016, 09:47
