would like to pursue corporate law, but need some advice Forum

[berkeleybear1]

I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration. I have a passion for business, as well as law of course, and am looking to earn a concentration in corporate law. Mergers and Acquisitions for the win haha.

Anyways, i would assume that if i wanted to get into corporate law it would be best to get into a Top 20 law school. That seems pretty self explanatory. Hypothetically speaking; however, let's say that doesn't work out.

Are there any schools that are outside of top 20 that would be worth going to that could help me pursue this goal of mine?

For example, maybe Santa Clara? It is located in tech capital Silicon Valley, but then one would be facing competition among Stanford, Boalt and Hasting students.

[hephaestus]

You should really only be looking at the T14. Don't waste your time with Santa Clara.

[Mojosodope]

Hastings isn't very good either.

[DrStudMuffin]

Obligatory http://www.lawschooltransparency.com

[[citation_omitted]]

I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration. I have a passion for business, as well as law of course, and am looking to earn a concentration in corporate law. Mergers and Acquisitions for the win haha.

You don't really earn a "concentration" in anything with a JD (with very limited exceptions, like Cornell and NU, though someone correct me if I'm wrong on those). You just get a JD. Go to the best school you get into (subject to certain conditions, like costs and location; i.e., maybe Berkeley over CCN if the former gives you $$ and you want to be in Cali). A BigLawl employer won't prefer a T25-T40 school with some reputation for corporate law (if such a school exists) over any T14. The list of the schools with the best corporate law "programs," or however you think of it, is the same as the list of best schools overall. Generally speaking, every employer will look at your transcript to see which classes you've taken, and you can load up on corporate classes at any school. The weight given to how you've done in those classes will be dependent upon how good the school is as a whole. Also, I noticed that you were pretty quick to note that you have a passion for business . . . being a lawyer isn't being a businessman/woman. If your primary passion is business, and you just have an interest in law, go into business. Not law. They're different, both as studies and as careers.

The overall reputation/ranking of the school will always be more important than any reputation that a school may have for a particular area of law. Every JD student graduates with a JD, and generally with no concentration other than "law." You're not a business law student, or an environmental law student, or a housing law student. You're a JD student. You study law, not international environmental human rights law with a minor in military detention and civil liberties.

[thesealocust]

Nothing matters but the relative strength of the school. Major corporate firms hire heavily from the top law schools, and basically not at all from other law schools. T14 or bust is actually pretty rational. Look up hiring numbers.

[Emma.]

I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration. I have a passion for business, as well as law of course, and am looking to earn a concentration in corporate law. Mergers and Acquisitions for the win haha.

You don't really earn a "concentration" in anything with a JD (with very limited exceptions, like Cornell and NU, though someone correct me if I'm wrong on those). You just get a JD. Go to the best school you get into (subject to certain conditions, like costs and location; i.e., maybe Berkeley over CCN if the former gives you $$ and you want to be in Cali). A BigLawl employer won't prefer a T25-T40 school with some reputation for corporate law (if such a school exists) over any T14. The list of the schools with the best corporate law "programs," or however you think of it, is the same as the list of best schools overall. Generally speaking, every employer will look at your transcript to see which classes you've taken, and you can load up on corporate classes at any school. The weight given to how you've done in those classes will be dependent upon how good the school is as a whole. Also, I noticed that you were pretty quick to note that you have a passion for business . . . being a lawyer isn't being a businessman/woman. If your primary passion is business, and you just have an interest in law, go into business. Not law. They're different, both as studies and as careers.

The overall reputation/ranking of the school will always be more important than any reputation that a school may have for a particular area of law. Every JD student graduates with a JD, and generally with no concentration other than "law." You're not a business law student, or an environmental law student, or a housing law student. You're a JD student. You study law, not international environmental human rights law with a minor in military detention and civil liberties.

Chicago has a business concentration program. You end up taking a bunch of classes taught by B-school professors.

[GuyLafleur]

Also, I noticed that you were pretty quick to note that you have a passion for business . . . being a lawyer isn't being a businessman/woman. If your primary passion is business, and you just have an interest in law, go into business. Not law. They're different, both as studies and as careers.

Although I agree with the overall message of your post, I'd have to disagree here. Law is a profession that lend itself to being entrepreneurial and having business sense. You want to hang your own shingle as an SP and then grow your firm? You better well have some entrepreneurial spirit and business sense. Which is a shame because I'd say 90% of lawyers have absolutely no business sense and are too risk-averse. But part of the blame lies on legal training, which is anathema to good business sense. If you're taught to spot risks and pitfalls in everything, it's hard to take the leap of faith and the calculated risks which go along with being an entrepreneur.