Recent Grad -- Chose Commercial Bank for LSAT Prep Freedom -- Wants Back into IB
Hello,
I am a recent graduate from a top 25 university, where I studied math and finance and came out with a strong, but not phenomenal 3.70 GPA. I was in the honors program and I would like to hope that many employers recognize the strength of a 3.70 given the math degree.
Around graduation, I received a couple of offers from boutique investment banks and a couple offers in risk at top tier Wall Street banks, but ultimately chose to join the commercial bank of a well known, but not top tier, bank: please note that this bank is unique in that their leveraged finance group (the group I sit in) is housed within their commercial bank. I made this decision as I have always known that I wanted to attend law school roughly 5 years after graduating from undergrad, and I wanted to have a slightly less demanding work-life-balance that would allow me time to study for the LSAT.
I have recently gotten an LSAT score I am satisfied with, and have requested recommendations from my undergraduate professors (both of which are good for 5 years).
Now with some of that law school stuff sorted, I am wondering if I should try to pivot back to the IB (especially equity research or advisory) side of banking. It interests me more, and yes, I would be lying if I said the prestige (as a resume booster for law school) wasn't attractive to me. I am comfortable ramping my hours back up now that I have finished with LSAT prep.
My fear is that now that I went into the "commercial banking world right out of college" there might be some stickiness. Will the same investment banks that were ready to give me a chance just over a year ago now think "I guess he couldn't break into IB out of undergrad"? Will they assume my modeling skills are sub-par?
But far be it from me to just let these fear filled questions be the end of the discussion. How do I ensure that if I do start applying back into the IB world, that I'll be taken seriously? One thought I had was starting CFA and getting through at least the first exam before applying back into the IB world. Another was perhaps just getting some modeling certificates (though I have come to understand they hold little weight). Any thoughts?
My (highly abridged) resume reads fairly well if you ask me, and tells the story of someone who was trying to figure out what area of finance he wanted to be in during his undergraduate/recent-grad tenure, but was certain that he wanted to go to law school:
In School:
- International trade internship: regulatory research, research into trade financing options, competitor analysis, cultural/political/social/economic analysis (5 months)
- Risk management summer analyst at a top tier Wall Street bank: country risk analysis, cultural/political/social/economic analysis, regulatory research, sanctions policy analysis, commodity price research (designed a framework to analyze WTI prices), FX analysis, general economic prediction (interest rates, growth, household income). Skills: deepened classroom familiarity with Haver, Bloomberg and STATA (2.5 months)
- financial planning and analysis internship at a major defense contractor and top b-school feeder: led data driven audits of repair-shop/sales efficiency (implemented changes have since contributed $7.6MM in EBITDA annually), led contract reviews, economic and political forecasting. (5 months)
- two separate treasury internships at impressive firms (mutual fund / PE group) despite lack-luster nature of an operational role: accounting, processing collateral movements, maintaining liquidity across currencies (authorized to independently purchase up to $USD 100K in certain currencies, up to $25MM with manager's approval [not a bad level of trust for a 19 year old]. (6 and 9 months respectively)
Post-Grad:
- Independently secured a regulatory research consulting contract with a serial entrepreneur in the transportation/food-service industry, scope of research included 16 states + DC, information sourced through full statute/regulation text, guidance document review and interviews with regulators and existing players in the space (1.5 months, $10K awarded)
- Rotational program at a recognizable commercial bank bank: received excellent marks from external accounting and credit analysis instructors (both having offered to give me recommendations upon my next career move): received excellent feed back from all rotations (which to my mind demonstrates I can learn a new field quickly): spreading financials, three-statement projections (out generally 5-8 years), detailed statistical and "expert" (qualitative) risk rating, in depth industry research, peer/comps analysis, contract review and analysis of pending lawsuits in which clients/potential-clients are plaintiff or defendant, financial analysis commentary (three-statement analysis of 5 year performance), enterprise valuations, repayment analysis (1.5 years through a 2 year contract)
Don’t really get your dilemma here. If you’re going to lawschool in 1-2 years don’t think it matters.
Also contrary to the MBA (no shit) law schools couldn’t care less about your work experience unless its highly special/extraordinary. GPA/LSAT will be 85% of the deciding factor sprinkled in with URM/intangibles
Intangibles probably 5%, only matters for Yale (not even Harvard Stanford unless you did something actually special, like compete in the olympics or hold a patent). People would be amazed how many T14 students held menial jobs and bogus BAs from schools you wouldn’t consider semi-targets.
I dabbled in LSAT prep/pre-law track and may have some insight.
First, only go to law school if you are ABSOLUTELY sure that you want to practice law. Talk to attorneys who graduated law school/entered practice in the last few years and not only boomers whose view of law school may not match up with realistic expectations for this day and age. Better yet, get some experience working within the kind of legal environment you might be interested in. Law school is a b*tch and uber expensive so don't skip due diligence.
That said, it would make the most sense to try ibanking before committing to law.
Sounds like, for all practical purposes, you were a "Leveraged Finance Analyst." I'd stress this aspect over the commercial bank umbrella and you could probably position yourself as a lateral for any Sponsors or Lev Fin team.
So far, you've done an awesome job at hedging your bets! Just be real sure about law before taking the plunge. Good Luck!
This is correct and feel free to PM me for details as someone who went to law school. Only thing I take issue with is getting exposure to law firms and legal work. Once you paralegal or take a support role you will be pigeon holing yourself. The best way to determine if law is for you is to read SEC filings or complex commercial litigation briefs and redline them/check the cross referenced terms/reformat. Do this for eight hours (billables) over twelve hours (your work day). Now imagine doing this six days a week for a couple decades.
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