Selecting the right job for law school

Guys, I am looking for sincere advice about my career. This is very specific post so it may not help many other people but I would really appreicate your thoughts.

For my full-time I would like to look at two things: (1) whether I like the job (2) whether it will help me to get into good law school (possible JD/MBA).

I am planning to work for 2 years and go to law school for JD or JD/MBA. Then with few years experience in M&A practice I want to come back to banking for M&A or restructuring.

Out of following options, (1) MS Finance (2) CT Capital Markets (3) MM IB (Oppenheimer, Duff & Phelps). What would be the right choice for me to satisfy both criteria?

Thank you

 

MM IB, A year ago I was contemplating law. Spoke to a guy at Watchtell/Sullivan & Cromwell/ Cravath, who is an associate that participates in the interview process. His words: "most of the pre law work experience interviewees come in with are basic jobs, what we really look for is class rank, law review etc; however if the person did something like investment banking prior to law school, that's gonna grab my attention"

Disclamer: The jump from law to IB is quite rare, it only happens amongst the top M&A firms like Skadden, S&C, Cravath. It usually comes about as a result of networking, and experience; usually about 4/5th year of an associates tenure. However in this current market its gonna happen less because the experienced hire pool is so large. If you want IB, do IB !

 

Doing this does not make much sense. If you want to be a lawyer, go to law school immediately (or work for a year or two as a paralegal).

If you want to be a banker, work in M&A. Maybe do a MBA to rebrand. But Finance > JD > law > finance just seems needlessly complex. Why do you want to do this? There are easier ways to get into restructuring.

 
Cruncharoo:
Unless you want to be Bond Counsel or something then I doubt you need law school. Bond Counsel definitely gets paid though, I'll tell you that for sure

also some of the least interesting people I know. tax accountants included.

 
monkeyc:
Cruncharoo:
Unless you want to be Bond Counsel or something then I doubt you need law school. Bond Counsel definitely gets paid though, I'll tell you that for sure

also some of the least interesting people I know. tax accountants included.

I don't disagree with that at all

This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..
 
Best Response

I would agree - "if you want IB, go IB" - but it's never that simple. A close friend of mine knew he wanted to become a lawyer before he started as an Analyst. He just didn't want to go straight to three more years of school, and figured that spending a few years learning how to work hard, learn something about, and make some money wasn't a terrible idea.

On the topic of Law to Investment Banking lateraling, I echo the point about top firms presenting the "best" opportunity, and the reality of such moves being fairly rare.

That said, for some reason or another, I've encountered a ton of JDs in securitization groups. Not sure why, but I wouldn't have expected it.

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."
 

Inventore aspernatur iure rem quasi labore in harum. Aspernatur rerum sapiente iste deserunt. Possimus architecto sunt illum soluta et et. Consequatur in blanditiis modi id eius a repellat.

Aut saepe eum quod sed labore id iusto ut. Aspernatur corrupti autem numquam minima esse. Quisquam ut et quam rerum velit dolor impedit. Qui odio aliquam rerum et distinctio. Iure esse sunt sapiente at nobis ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”