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Why do you want to go to grad school?
...why?
3 years vs. 2 or 1. Typically much more expensive. Dramatically different job prospects upon graduation. You're already at a development shop. You'll still have to hire an attorney as a developer even if you have a law degree.
What am I missing?
An MBA generally or MSRE (Finance or Development focus) is —vastly— more valuable in that role than a JD imho (from practical technical tools to an employable network).
A JD is not the kind of degree to get unless you are 100% convinced that you want to be a practicing attorney. Treat this line as gospel to save yourself substantial future pain.
From a financial (debt in the + $200k range plus room/board and opp costs - with tuition rising each year and not accounting for cumulative interest/carrying costs - that number could make it all-in over $350+ when fully tallied), mental (a mental boot camp which will permanently change the way that you analyze the world including a “risks versus opportunities optic” which often separates serial entrepreneurs from professional grade service providers) and pedigree (including how people will view you - business ~ quantitative person versus a legal technical person) is a bell that cannot be unrung.
As CRE very astutely says, you can always hire an attorney. Take that sage advice please.
Only go JD if you want to be a lawyer 100%.
Sounds like you have a good gig. Why grad school? If your firm is as legit as it sounds, consider a part time MBA if you absolutely need to get the extra credentials. Experience is still everything in this industry.
I used to be a lawyer. So, let me offer you some very simple advice. DON'T BECOME A LAWYER. For starters, it's stressful, boring AF and the hours are miserable. But equally as important...
You are going to do 10x more work than everybody else, be the one everyone looks at if something goes wrong, and you're going to make a fraction of what everyone else makes in the deal compared to the brokers, mortgage bankers, and owners... if you even make that far into a coveted commercial real estate attorney position.
Most importantly, the job prospects for the vast majority of freshly minted attorneys are terrible. There are way more aspiring attorneys than there are jobs available for them. I cannot tell you how many countless times I've heard of people who went to law school with aspirations of practicing entertainment law, corporate law, etc... And they all end up being forced to go into solo practice struggling to make ends meet taking court appointed criminal defense cases, divorce cases, fender benders, etc; working in insurance defense shops; or the absolute bottom of the barrel of the field doing doc review. Some don't even make it that far and are now waiting tables or driving Ubers while trying to pay off their ginormous law school loans.
If you're sticking with development then becoming an attorney makes zero sense as you will be spending more time and money pursuing a degree that essentially is worthless for staying in development.
JUST DON'T DO IT. You've been warned.
Get your MRED.
100% MBA. But is it even necessary?
Are you sure you’re not just doing asset management at a DC based reit? Otherwise why would you be looking at b school
People that are actually analysts at top development shops don’t go to b school son. They learn their asses off and keep moving up or transferring between Hines, related, Tishman
Lawyer adjuct Professor in Bschool sold some land in some path of growth area for $400 million. Land was worth shit before. During downturns he practiced law. Other times he used his entitlement law experience to add value to his real estate.
Other land use lawyer I worked for owns a some commercial land with a large parking lot. Guess what is highest and best use.
Just saying, lawyers with real estate exposure have some side hustle worth millions,
If you’re going the law route, pick a city to live the rest of your life and do land use law, and then side hustle.
Just my 2 cents - The shop i'm at right now ($1.5B AUM and growing every day) is basically run by our in house attorney. He's not the main dude, but from my perspective he does most of the heavy lifting and get's a significant carry position/coinvest on deals some of us aren't allowed to touch. On the flip side, one of my early mentors had a top MBA and basically runs our development team. They're both good gig's, but truly different positions. If you're more into acquisitions than development I would say opt for the JD - however the MBA is the solid choice if you wanna go development day in day out.
Keep in mind no one really gives a shit either, a JD will have a prestige factor a top MBA won't command because the truth is most people at these shops all went to good undergrad's and RE is more about your knowledge base/experience and capability to put capital into deals when it counts than any other factor. You could even make an argument that going to a good undergrad and getting 5-8 years of top tier experience(breadth) is a better route than either of the graduate pursuits. Capital is king kid.
Wut
I meant in a general sense.
I get where you're coming from, but I don't totally agree. Universal opinion seems to be that a JD is not worth it unless you are sure you want to get into law. I think that's fair, though if you want to focus on RE law, then it might be worth it. It's just going to be tough to convince a firm to hire you to be on the transaction side when your degree provides more value as counsel.
That being said, if you're willing to crawl into a hole for a few prime years of your life, a JD/MBA would be a huge asset. Being able to execute on the business side AND be able to review legal docs would make you an enormous asset for a smaller developer trying to conserve on overhead.
I agree a JD/MBA would be a huge asset - but only worth it if you plan on playing in the big leagues. The point I was trying to make in my last post was that for development purposes an MBA is far more suitable, and that if you intend to break out on your own one day then capital/experience are the two primary drivers.
People talk shit about JD's on this website, but they often forget that money is not the sole purpose behind every decision either. Some people enjoy law school simply because of the intellectual pursuit. ROI's aren't always monetary.
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