Why would anyone want to be a lawyer?

When you have the option of finance, why would anyone choose to go to law school and waste money to go to law school for three years? You end up making same if not less than in finance

 

Because they watch Suits and think it looks cool, and frankly it does.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
Anacott_CEO:
Some people still place more prestige on doctor and lawyer than anything else
I feel like this is the maxim of the generation born from 1920 vs 1945, ie my grandma. growing up, my sibling and I only heard about being a "doctor or lawyer." I only learned what an investment banker was in high school. I think it comes from the emergence of big finance only thru the early-mid 20th century, and also from

that.

 

Some people actually like law...gasp

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

You really think lawyers had the option of finance? Good lord, no. The ones who could have didn't consider it before it was too late. No one who researches the law path well goes into corporate law if they could have gotten into a front office role.

 
NewGuy:
You really think lawyers had the option of finance? Good lord, no. The ones who could have didn't consider it before it was too late. No one who researches the law path well goes into corporate law if they could have gotten into a front office role.

This is flat out erroneous. There are plenty of people who leave ibanking to go to law school.

 
FreezePops:
NewGuy:
You really think lawyers had the option of finance? Good lord, no. The ones who could have didn't consider it before it was too late. No one who researches the law path well goes into corporate law if they could have gotten into a front office role.

This is flat out erroneous. There are plenty of people who leave ibanking to go to law school.

Yes, and those guys are idiots who regret it years later. I come from a family of lawyers and considered law as well. Half my friends are lawyers so I hear their tales and moans too freqeuntly. And I still spend enough time on autoadmit.com to know that this is still the case. As I said, for front office roles, no one "who researches the law path well" makes that decision if they do indeed have the choice.

This refers to those who go to law school for corporate law jobs, not those who go because of other motives (government, non profits etc).

 

It may sound crazy but some people don't decide their futures based on how much money they could make. If you prefer law to finance, you should go into law, as good lawyers can make a very nice living.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
 

because some people are interested in law more than finance?

i'm surprised by how many kids on these threads have like ZERO interest in finance.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
 
Best Response
sayandarula:
because some people are interested in law more than finance?

i'm surprised by how many kids on these threads have like ZERO interest in finance.

I read this article a few years ago, which explains why many people pick Finance without having a real interest in it. Summary:

The recruiting processes of Wall Street firms (and consulting firms, and corporate law firms) exploit these (faulty) decision rules perfectly. The primary selling point of Goldman Sachs or McKinsey is that it leaves open the possibility of future greatness. The main pitch is, “Do this for two years, and afterward you can do anything (like be treasury secretary).”

http://baselinescenario.com/2010/05/04/why-do-harvard-kids-head-to-wall…

"I am the hero of the story. I don't need to be saved."
 

You can pretty easily tell who is still in college and who never left college despite getting a full-time job by reading these responses. It's pretty hilarious.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Most people in law school couldn't have gotten an FO role. Though there are a decent amount of people in law school who had FO/Consulting/etc roles and opted for law after not liking their time in those careers. And of those that could have had an FO job but went to law school instead most of them are interested in law for non-monetary reasons. For instance a buddy of mine turned down numerous top finance positions most of us would die for on this site because he wants to be in academia. So he went to Yale law school, is also doing his PhD, and will likely end up as a law professor.

 

What i don't understand is JD/MBAs? Why the hell do you want to rack up $350k in debt just to have the dual degree which basically serves no purpose other than buying you time in the decision of law vs. everything else? There's almost no justification for having both. Senior partners at top law firms don't really need the MBA - they can learn the business side as they progress through their careers. Similarly, bankers etc. don't need to know the law side because you know their just gonna hire Cravath anyways.

It may be a small advantage for expert witnesses (damages), but i literally can't think of a single other career path where it is justified.

 
jankynoname:
What i don't understand is JD/MBAs? Why the hell do you want to rack up $350k in debt just to have the dual degree which basically serves no purpose other than buying you time in the decision of law vs. everything else? There's almost no justification for having both. Senior partners at top law firms don't really need the MBA - they can learn the business side as they progress through their careers. Similarly, bankers etc. don't need to know the law side because you know their just gonna hire Cravath anyways.

It may be a small advantage for expert witnesses (damages), but i literally can't think of a single other career path where it is justified.

Prestige
 

Is it really that hard to believe that some people want to be lawyers? Some people want to be lawyers, some people want to be cops, and some want to be astronauts. It doesn't make them less of people and it doesn't make them weird. It means they have something they want to do and they do it.

 

JD/MBA ftw. I did a stint at a V5 for the summer. Hated it. Shooting for IB now. Went to grad school wanting IB, thought the JD would differentiate me. For me (given personal circumstances I won't go into) I think it was the right decision, but I don't think the dual degree is worth it for 90% of people, and it wouldn't have been for me either had I not made "wrong" decisions earlier in life.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 

why would you want to go to law school.... to become a banker? if you would have known earlier, you would have been a banker or at least tried to network your way in during your undergrad years. but noooo, you were probably having too much fun with your kappa kappa kay buddies rather than focusing on practicing for your interviews or at least trying to land them.

if a person tells you they would rather do law than finance, they don't know finance or they are just trying to rationalize their decision... deep down inside, they know they dun fucked up. i know alum md's at bb's who went to law school and practiced law and all of them said they didn't like their law jobs and would have done finance from the start. fuck em, less competition for me. money over all niggas.

 

The posts in this thread make it seem like you have to practice law by getting a JD. The JD is a much more versatile degree than an MBA, and many companies often recognize it in place of an MBA. A lot of consultants, bankers, and non-lawyers have their JD and they're all the better for it.

Law school teaches you to think differently, and you don't have to go to law school just to be a lawyer. One person already pointed this out, but I'll repeat it: Lloyd Blankfein started as a lawyer. What you start in and whether you have a JD, MBA, or both, doesn't determine what you end up doing.

 
MogulintheMaking:
ltohang:
When you have the option of finance, why would anyone choose to go to law school and waste money to go to law school for three years? You end up making same if not less than in finance

This is so stupid.

You go into law so that you can be the fucking president.

Discussion closed.

Lol, I would SB you if I had any. In all seriousness though, would be interesting to see a banker president. Someone like Paulson or Dimon.

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