Would experience as atty in CMBS/RMBS litigation help lateral to business side of RE?
I am a licensed attorney with a MSRED* (Columbia), and was approached with the opportunity to work on (in temp position mind you - not associate) an ongoing RMBS/CMBS case with the assignment lasting 14 months or so.
I have my MSRED, but have zero actual real estate deal business experience (ie, underwriting, acquisition etc).
Would this temporary (albeit 14 months is a substantial time frame and I want to be in the RE business side, definitely not the legal side near and long term) assignment be a positive thing or should I stick to looking for an entry/foot-in-the-door opportunity on the real estate business side (ie, development associate, acquisitions associate etc).
*I got the MSRED to transition over to business side, not be back in the law.
Thanks guys.
Yeah, having any real estate experience would definitely help. My concern for you is that you're going to be considered "over qualified" for pretty much anything you apply for at the entry-level since you have a law degree and a masters in real estate development from freakin' Columbia. That will only be exacerbated by by having 14 months in securities law.
Frankly, real estate attorneys can make really good money. You must really detest law practice to be shying away from a really solid field. If it were me I'd used the experience to leverage myself into real estate law and specialize in a certain area of real estate.
Have you thought about trying to go in house somewhere? If you've got a few years' of transactional experience working at a half-decent firm, I would think you could find a position that makes you happier than working at a law firm. I know all the attorneys at my company much prefer their choice of career now that they aren't slaves to the billable hour.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people in the industry in business roles who have legal training and/or significant legal experience. In my estimation, you'll be taking a step backward if you move to a business-oriented associate level position. Your MSRED will probably also help you understand the business implications of points you'd be negotiating in whatever docs you work on, which I'd think would be an asset to any employer.
So that's my thought, as a guy who knows mostly zilch about legal practice (Common Slothrop phrase: "I don't have any fucking idea, let's go ask the lawyers.")
Hi Slothrop and dcdepository, I could stick with law and make a good salary, but law is a real grind and is not fun in any way, plus there are limits to the upside potential economically.
You are never really creating or finding opportunities, but rather dealing with someone else's facts and spend 99% of your time worrying about or addressing liabilities or potential liabilities.
Real estate at its essence is about finding and maximizing opportunities. And, if you can do it as a personal investor (I know not as easy as it sounds, but viable) there is no limit to your upside.
An upside that could work for you and produce passively whereas in law you have to work each hour for each dollar (passive vs service oriented income).
I wonder what the life and job satisfaction rates are comparing higher level real estate professionals/players and attorneys.
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