Advice for a new lawyer/aspiring i-banker
Here's my background: I went to a top 20 law school (much closer to 20 than 1) and I did really well (just around top 10%). Went to my crappy state school undergrad. I just finished law school a few weeks ago and I will be starting at a fancy shmancy firm in NY this September.
I have a few questions:
What practice area makes the most natural transition from a law firm to i-bank? I'm thinking of changing from litigation to bankruptcy to help facilitate the move...
Does anyone know how hard the transition is? Is it common for people with JDs to go into banking after a few years of law practice?
Is there anything I should do to make it more likely to happen? If it comes down to it, I'm open to getting an MBA but I would really prefer not to...
Any advice highly appreciated.
in these times, u will need an mba from a top 10 program and be a top 10 percent student there to realisticaly land an ibanking associate job anywhere worthwhile. look around u, firms are laying off the harvard mba types, so it wont be easy.not impossible either.if u want it then better get ready for an uphill battle.
Why would you want to leave a 'fancy schmancy' firm in NY?
i went to law school straight out of undergrad because i didn't have a practical major and i didn't know what to do next... it was only in my last year of law school that i realized how much i'm into finance and how much i would rather build a career at a hedge fund than a law firm.
in the long run, i would much rather "be on the front lines," so to say, making bets and taking huge risks than staying at a law firm and resolving other people's legal troubles.
also, the salary at biglaw shops is high at first, but long term salary growth has much more potential at a hedge fund or investment bank.
i'm basically one of those people that fucked around a lot when i was younger but now i have a serious fire under my ass and i want to do big things... i just don't see myself staying at a law firm for more than a couple years.
For an eventual transition to banking/finance, you definitely want to be on the corporate side rather than litigation. Ideally you would have ibanks/PE firms as your clients. That way you'll get lots of transaction experience. It's valuable to know your way around the legal docs when you're doing a deal in banking.
Right now, given current environment, the move would be very difficult. But in 2-3 years, when things are rolling again, you would definitely have a shot at a 1st year associate spot if you can network for interviews or maybe even tap the MBA recruiting circut at your grad school if they also have a top MBA program.
do you think that restructuring/bankruptcy would do the trick as well?
i don't know too much about bankruptcy practice yet (though i'm researching and learning), but i believe the bankruptcy guys work with ibanks and PE firms as much as the corporate guys...
i'm much more interested in restructuting than i am in corporate work (in large part because i think restructuring is a similar form of analysis to the one i'd be doing at a bank). also, for what it's worth, all the (famous) lawyers i can think of who made it big in the hedge fund world started in bankruptcy...
Restructuring/corporate is your best bet. Specialize in M&A/Project and Infrastructure/etc. I know a bunch of ex-lawyers that we effectively "poached" from law firms. A few of them have spent 3 or 4 years at their law firms though and really have a strong knowledge of the field. You probably won't be able to jump straight away.
thanks. i don't mind working for 3 or 4 years before making the switch. i just want to make sure that my time at the firm is as useful as possible to make the switch easier...
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