I have a law degree from a "Top 50" school (e.g. not highly respected, but not completely worthless).
I am contemplating getting an MBA from a top 5 school. Will a my law degree help my chances? I had average grades in both law school and undergrad.
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what's your gmat score? i would say you at least need a 700, great recs, essays and good work eperience to get into a top 5 if you have avg grades. the JD won't hurt in my opinion...you will just have to answer why the jd then and the mba now?
b-schools are very skeptical of lawyers.
i think it might actually be negative because there is such a thing as being over qualified. ex. do you remember that one guy in the Apprentice who wasn't hired because he decided to get all these degrees even after he had a MBA. The reason why is because it made him seem indecisive career wise. why would you decide on becoming a lawyer, go though all the trouble,finish law school and then decide that you don't want to be a lawyer anymore. how about forgetting the MBA and just trying to get into an Ibank. I heard that banks ahve hired lawyers before but it may be harder if you didn't go to a top school.
Just an opinion - being a lawyer from a top 50 means you're smart. That being said, B-schools want students they can market and if you don't have much work experience they're not going to like you. Your best bet may be to skip the MBA, find a contact at an i-bank, and beg for a job...
I know a guy who went to a 2nd tier law school and then got into a 1st tier b-school after practicing litigation for a few years. He did fine in recruiting, ending up with a great hedge fund job. My general impression is that a law degree is considered pretty valuable.
How many years did he work in a legal capacity before b-school?
I believe it was around 3 years. Also, in my group this summer there was a JD/MBA who was a good year or two ahead of the curve in terms of his ability and respect by the MDs. One MD I spoke with was praising the guy and credited the dual degree as part of the reason for his rapid advance.
i graduated from a top ten ls and practiced for 4 years before starting b-school. On the whole, I think adcoms were skeptical of my career plans and could pretty much see I was just running from the law. I think having a jd hurts more than helps.
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