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29 Jun 2006, 03:52
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To summarize:
University of Hawaii at Manoa, 3.94 GPA within major, 3.71 cumulative, President of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (UH Manoa Chapter), President/Founder of UH Motorcycle Club, State Champion for 2006 Junior Chamber International "Speak Up Jaycees" competition and National Delegate to Indianapolis convention, currently working at Central Pacific Bank and PBS Hawaii Station.
My primary short term goal is to get into either a top MBA or JD program right out of college, though with Wharton's stringent requirements on job experience, here's my question....
Is is feasible to go after a JD in Corporate Finance Law, when the end goal is to get into Investment Banking? How exactly does a Corporate law JD intertwine with the job skills necessary that an MBA graduate possesses? I am thinking that the JD will enhance critical thinking, reasoning skills, writing skills, and organizational skills/work ethic.
It's impossible for me to get into the schools I was looking at (such as Wharton) right out of college because of my lack of 5 years work experience---so should I study up for the LSAT and go for law?
Btw: I have a strong interest in law and have represented myself in court "just for fun" before (yet lost to the State Prosecutor). However, if forced to choose, I would rather do Investment Banking (negotiating and selling) than writing contracts all day.
University of Hawaii at Manoa, 3.94 GPA within major, 3.71 cumulative, President of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (UH Manoa Chapter), President/Founder of UH Motorcycle Club, State Champion for 2006 Junior Chamber International "Speak Up Jaycees" competition and National Delegate to Indianapolis convention, currently working at Central Pacific Bank and PBS Hawaii Station.
My primary short term goal is to get into either a top MBA or JD program right out of college, though with Wharton's stringent requirements on job experience, here's my question....
Is is feasible to go after a JD in Corporate Finance Law, when the end goal is to get into Investment Banking? How exactly does a Corporate law JD intertwine with the job skills necessary that an MBA graduate possesses? I am thinking that the JD will enhance critical thinking, reasoning skills, writing skills, and organizational skills/work ethic.
It's impossible for me to get into the schools I was looking at (such as Wharton) right out of college because of my lack of 5 years work experience---so should I study up for the LSAT and go for law?
Btw: I have a strong interest in law and have represented myself in court "just for fun" before (yet lost to the State Prosecutor). However, if forced to choose, I would rather do Investment Banking (negotiating and selling) than writing contracts all day.
29 Jun 2006, 05:47
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Icandoit,
Why such a strong impulse to go directly to Law or Business school? I personally advise almost everyone I talk to about careers to go into the work world for a couple of years. You'll get the experience that you need to get into a more top-tier program and will be able to better fine tune what you want to do. You're only, what? 21? 22? It's silly to think that you would know exactly what you want to do now. I have many friends who went right from undergrad to Law School because they 'didn't know what to do'. They finished, not wanting to practice law, and with $200k in debt. A friend of mine who went to Yale Law School is now working in Psychology Clinical trials. Go figure.
Second, there's no MBA requirement for I Banking. Tons of my friends from school work at Goldman, Lehman, etc without an MBA. The typical path is to work 4 years and then return to get your MBA.
I'll offer the advice that my dad gives (he's an attorney) - don't get a law degree unless you want to practice law. You seem interested in corporate law and you've mentioned your enjoyment in going to court. In corporate law, chances will be slim that you'll hit the courtroom in the next 10 years.
Back to the question of MBA or JD, though, if even after my advice you still want to go back to school right away. I struggled with the same decision, too - and I have the 5 years of work. The benefit of a law degree is that you finish school and you're a lawyer. Immediately employable anywhere. You finish an MBA and you're just a better qualified business person. Slightly different twist, and much more open-ended. But with a JD, you can bet that even in the corporate world, you may be pigeon-holed into legal matters. They both can eventually lead to the same place - only JDs are typically in the background of deals, MBAs at the forefront. This is at the very top level. JD is 3 years, it's intense, and, from what my friends ahve told me, it's pretty miserable.
My final advice: go work. BOTH JD and MBA programs are beginning to value this more and more. Figure out what you REALLY want to do. If in 2 years, you still are considering both, look into combined JD/MBA programs. You're young and you should explore the working world. Hey, I agree that school is fun. I love learning. But the work world is not like school. Law school is not like being a lawyer, it's much more theoretical. Get practical experience.
Good luck!
Why such a strong impulse to go directly to Law or Business school? I personally advise almost everyone I talk to about careers to go into the work world for a couple of years. You'll get the experience that you need to get into a more top-tier program and will be able to better fine tune what you want to do. You're only, what? 21? 22? It's silly to think that you would know exactly what you want to do now. I have many friends who went right from undergrad to Law School because they 'didn't know what to do'. They finished, not wanting to practice law, and with $200k in debt. A friend of mine who went to Yale Law School is now working in Psychology Clinical trials. Go figure.
Second, there's no MBA requirement for I Banking. Tons of my friends from school work at Goldman, Lehman, etc without an MBA. The typical path is to work 4 years and then return to get your MBA.
I'll offer the advice that my dad gives (he's an attorney) - don't get a law degree unless you want to practice law. You seem interested in corporate law and you've mentioned your enjoyment in going to court. In corporate law, chances will be slim that you'll hit the courtroom in the next 10 years.
Back to the question of MBA or JD, though, if even after my advice you still want to go back to school right away. I struggled with the same decision, too - and I have the 5 years of work. The benefit of a law degree is that you finish school and you're a lawyer. Immediately employable anywhere. You finish an MBA and you're just a better qualified business person. Slightly different twist, and much more open-ended. But with a JD, you can bet that even in the corporate world, you may be pigeon-holed into legal matters. They both can eventually lead to the same place - only JDs are typically in the background of deals, MBAs at the forefront. This is at the very top level. JD is 3 years, it's intense, and, from what my friends ahve told me, it's pretty miserable.
My final advice: go work. BOTH JD and MBA programs are beginning to value this more and more. Figure out what you REALLY want to do. If in 2 years, you still are considering both, look into combined JD/MBA programs. You're young and you should explore the working world. Hey, I agree that school is fun. I love learning. But the work world is not like school. Law school is not like being a lawyer, it's much more theoretical. Get practical experience.
Good luck!
02 Jul 2006, 00:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
I agree that law school, business school, or virtually any other form of advanced education makes a highly suboptimal place to find oneself. I highly encourage people who are undecided about their future career to work for a few years before selecting which type of graduate education to pursue (if any).
At a general level, I believe that the Path of Least Resistance Criterion should be heeded- if one wishes to become a business leader, one should probaby get an advanced degree in business. That said, many CEOs of major corporations hold law degrees. Indeed, Harvard Law School is a larger producer of major CEOs than the vast majority of MBA programs.
There is often a bit of confusion between the role of lawyers in investment banking transactions and the role of investment bankers who have academic training in law but are not acting as attorneys. There are many JDs (and JD/MBAs) at high levels in investment banks. This makes perfect sense- investment banking is a higher regulated field where an understanding the exact structure and ramifications of a complex, multi-stage transaction can be crucial.
https://www.csfb.com/investment_banking/ ... nd_a.shtml
https://www.lehman.com/im/pe/pfi/fof/principals.htm
You might find this interesting as well
https://www.bu.edu/law/jd/concentrations ... ement.html
At a general level, I believe that the Path of Least Resistance Criterion should be heeded- if one wishes to become a business leader, one should probaby get an advanced degree in business. That said, many CEOs of major corporations hold law degrees. Indeed, Harvard Law School is a larger producer of major CEOs than the vast majority of MBA programs.
There is often a bit of confusion between the role of lawyers in investment banking transactions and the role of investment bankers who have academic training in law but are not acting as attorneys. There are many JDs (and JD/MBAs) at high levels in investment banks. This makes perfect sense- investment banking is a higher regulated field where an understanding the exact structure and ramifications of a complex, multi-stage transaction can be crucial.
https://www.csfb.com/investment_banking/ ... nd_a.shtml
https://www.lehman.com/im/pe/pfi/fof/principals.htm
You might find this interesting as well
https://www.bu.edu/law/jd/concentrations ... ement.html
