Lawyer -> Investment Management

Is it possible for a lawyer to break into investment management (e.g., PIMCO, Wellington) without MBA? I realize that even if possible, getting an investment role at a top Asset Management shop would be difficult. Want to see if the idea might pass the laugh test before starting to network.

Basic background: Duke UG Work experience at MBB Stanford Law JD Top wall street law firm (Cravath/S&C/Skadden) doing deals

Any advice and/or dose of reality would be helpful. Thanks.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

I think it would be difficult to break in as a research analyst unless you stepped into a legal role first or got a MBA.

If you don't want to get a MBA, the easiest way would be to join one of the aforementioned firm's legal departments, hopefully in a role that interacts with research. For example, I believe some of the larger firms have lawyers that work exclusively on proxy or related corporate governance issues.

Another angle would be to try to join a shareholder activist fund. These funds have need for good legal talent to help with their various proxy battles and shareholder lawsuits. As a research analyst, I've actually been thinking about getting a JD eventually to try to join one of these funds.

 

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