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Hey everyone. Quick question. I'm very interested in doing a joint MBA/JD program in law school, but I didn't apply for it when I was generally applying to law schools. I was wondering if law schools will let you apply for the program during your second or even half way through your first year in law school? I don't know if its a very structured program that needs to be completed over the three years or not and needs to begin from the start. Thanks!

Depends on the school, but generally you need to apply in your first year of law school if you're allowed to apply at all.

some schools (if not most) have 4 year programs. They are generally structured as your first year being 1L, 2nd year being 1st year of business, and third and fourth combined.

I'd say to do this you would need to apply as a 1L, and also get the schools permission. I don't think there would be any problem though.

Also, JD/MBA. Don't use the periods in J.D. when referring to it.

It's about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish.

MTal wrote:It's about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish.

u r referring to the advice u give right?

thederangedwang wrote:

MTal wrote:It's about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish.

u r referring to the advice u give right?

MTal can be a jerk at times, but that doesn't mean he is always wrong. In this case, he is right.

Honestly, I wish I had done the JD/MBA thing. The business knowledge would have been incredibly helpful in the restructuring context (and I am actually considering doing a night-MBA for this reason), and now I will need to learn it all on the fly. But I think the practice areas where it makes sense are probably fairly limited in scope.

ToTransferOrNot wrote:Honestly, I wish I had done the JD/MBA thing. The business knowledge would have been incredibly helpful in the restructuring context (and I am actually considering doing a night-MBA for this reason), and now I will need to learn it all on the fly. But I think the practice areas where it makes sense are probably fairly limited in scope.

The problem though, is that you can get that knowledge without plopping down another $80k of tuition. You can take grad level business and finance classes at a university extension at a fraction of the cost. If you are really serious about finance, you can try to complete the CFA which costs around $1000 per year.

Mick Haller wrote:

ToTransferOrNot wrote:Honestly, I wish I had done the JD/MBA thing. The business knowledge would have been incredibly helpful in the restructuring context (and I am actually considering doing a night-MBA for this reason), and now I will need to learn it all on the fly. But I think the practice areas where it makes sense are probably fairly limited in scope.

The problem though, is that you can get that knowledge without plopping down another $80k of tuition. You can take grad level business and finance classes at a university extension at a fraction of the cost. If you are really serious about finance, you can try to complete the CFA which costs around $1000 per year.

The CFA, contrary to popular belief, is held by very few people and typically requires years of experience in finance. Unlike the CPA, it is not standard in the finance world. FWIW, I was a finance major UG and am currently working in a finance position.

An MBA is much more marketable in business.

InGoodFaith wrote: The CFA, contrary to popular belief, is held by very few people and typically requires years of experience in finance. Unlike the CPA, it is not standard in the finance world. FWIW, I was a finance major UG and am currently working in a finance position.

An MBA is much more marketable in business.

Agreed, but for JD holders who are already $100,000 in debt, I'd take my chances with the $3,000 degree rather than the $80k+ one. And it does require 4 years of full time finance experience to become a full charterholder, but you can pass the exams first and acquire work experience later.

I think some of the scorn towards CFA holders stems from the difficulty of passing it. It's pretty challenging stuff. Only 11% of people who start it finish all 3 levels.

Mick Haller wrote:

InGoodFaith wrote: The CFA, contrary to popular belief, is held by very few people and typically requires years of experience in finance. Unlike the CPA, it is not standard in the finance world. FWIW, I was a finance major UG and am currently working in a finance position.

An MBA is much more marketable in business.

Agreed, but for JD holders who are already $100,000 in debt, I'd take my chances with the $3,000 degree rather than the $80k+ one. And it does require 4 years of full time finance experience to become a full charterholder, but you can pass the exams first and acquire work experience later.

I think some of the scorn towards CFA holders stems from the difficulty of passing it. It's pretty challenging stuff. Only 11% of people who start it finish all 3 levels.

You certainly don't have to go $80k in debt for an MBA. Many companies will sponsor it for you if you are working FT and going to night school. CFA would be a great addition to your educational creds, but as you said, it's extraordinarily difficult to obtain (even by people who have been working in the field for years).

The type of knowledge that comes with the CFA is not the kind of knowledge that would be good for a bankruptcy attorney to know.

As a bankruptcy attorney, I will want to be able to have a candid conversation with the CFO, the CRO, the CEO of a company thinking about filing, be able to understand and evaluate the business issues, etc. I don't need to be able to do high-level valuations myself - that's what the expert witness is for - but I need to be able to understand and explain them (I saw an oral argument recently where a lawyer was absolutely decimated by the panel because the lawyer couldn't explain some of the basic cogs in the regression they used at trial).

Plus, I would never have an opportunity to get the requisite 4 years of finance experience, because this is all information I want to acquire to help my practice - not replace it.

I'm not sure what the general consensus is here on whether obtaining the joint degree is of advantage or not.
Thankfully, my parents are paying for all my law school expenses, and while I'm not looking to run them bankrupt, paying any extra expenses isn't really a problem. So if I was looking toward possibly working on Tax or Corporate law someday (I'll also have a BS in Accounting come May), would considering the joint program be a good idea? Or I should I take take classes on my own, and if needed, finish them up after I graduate law school?

What if you want to open an adult lounge and you go to law school and MBA to learn all the law to maneuver around and all those business skills to cash in on those tittAYs?

Marie34 wrote:I'm not sure what the general consensus is here on whether obtaining the joint degree is of advantage or not.
Thankfully, my parents are paying for all my law school expenses, and while I'm not looking to run them bankrupt, paying any extra expenses isn't really a problem. So if I was looking toward possibly working on Tax or Corporate law someday (I'll also have a BS in Accounting come May), would considering the joint program be a good idea? Or I should I take take classes on my own, and if needed, finish them up after I graduate law school?

With your b-school background and anticipated profession, doing the joint degree is definitely to your advantage. There are few people that can make a JD/MBA work, but that is definitely one of the cases where it does.

MTal wrote:It's about as useful as a bicycle is to a fish.

Ever see artificial reefs? A bicycle could be damn useful to a fish...just not for riding.