Thoughts on paying "sticker" @ T10 Forum

[resilience99]

I would really like to know your path to legal consulting for 100k. please share.

[A. Nony Mouse]

On a side note, there is a lot of focus on these boards on the down sides of law school but rarely any discussion on the intrinsic benefits. I know huge debt can "ruin" a life and many lawyers are unhappy; important things to consider. However, three years of learning in a new city, meeting many new friends and "contacts", and having a graduate degree that opens many doors are also important. While I get that financial realities are critical, if you can live with the worst case scenario, why not choose what gives you the best lifetime opportunities for success and, for some people, a more interesting life.

I'm sympathetic to this because my reason for law school was to be able to get a job I found interesting and fulfilling. That said, you don't need to go to law school to learn, live in a new city, and make new friends/contacts. More importantly, the JD only opens a lot of doors if you're talking about legal jobs. It gets touted as a versatile degree all the time, but many people with JDs trying to get non-legal jobs face a lot of skepticism (why on earth would you want this job if you went to law school?) and suspicion that they're going to bolt as soon as a legal job opens up. Some people end up leaving the JD off altogether - very few employers actually see a JD as adding value to an employee who doesn't actually have to have one. Now, there can be specific exceptions to this generalization, and you might even have some of them in mind, but I wanted to throw that out there in case you were just referring to the regular axiom that "A JD is so versatile!!!"

(I would also say, don't get a Ph.D., except it sounds like whatever you'd study is something that actually translates to industry/non-academic employment, so I'll hold off.)

[kenji]

This board is full of K-JD kids and this thread really proves it. OP with work experience should prob solicit advice somewhere else.

[didntgo89072014]

OP are you at AG/Cornerstone/CRA/NERA etc.? I am in a similar position. Do not go to law school. Get an MBA instead. With a good GMAT score you will get M7.

M7 MBA > T10 JD because:
1. One year less tuition
2. One year less opportunity cost
3. Much less risk
4. Much better degree versatility
5. School experience is a lot more fun

There's a reason everyone your age at your firm goes MBA or PhD and no one goes JD...

[didntgo89072014]

Also to people who want his job or similar, typical path is:

Top undergrad (T25 universities, T10 or T20 LACs US News rankings)
Econ, math or finance major
GPA >3.7
Kill interviews in OCI

Of course the less prestigious firms will take from lesser schools or worse GPAs, and quantitative experience helps.

[resilience99]

Also to people who want his job or similar, typical path is:

Top undergrad (T25 universities, T10 or T20 LACs US News rankings)
Econ, math or finance major
GPA >3.7
Kill interviews in OCI

Of course the less prestigious firms will take from lesser schools or worse GPAs, and quantitative experience helps.

What is a one sentence job description? and wouldn't it make more sense to hire a JD for that job?

[BerkeleyBear]

This board is full of K-JD kids and this thread really proves it. OP with work experience should prob solicit advice somewhere else.

Kenji, why in the fuck are you still on TLS? I've never seen someone so adamant that this board sucks and then continually post shitty, useless comments.

[didntgo89072014]

Not 100% sure this is the kind of thing OP is doing but basically you use quantitative analysis to analyze economic issues in litigation. Lots of excel and other, more advanced programming languages. Mostly work with biglaw firms in securities, anti-trust, intellectual property, etc. It's more about business, finance, and math than litigation, that's why they hire Math/econ Undergrads, MBAs and PhDs primarily. It sounds like what he's doing but I can't be sure until he responds.

[zazoo]

Didntgo is right on the money and I agree with his characterization. My industry is generally called "economic consulting", but its almost exclusively based in litigation. I work with attorney's to do the math and data processing work involved in large, complicated cases (like calculating damages in large IP cases). We generally hire econ majors (I was econ and political science).

[resilience99]

do you have a job lined up at your work after graduation? why don't you try to secure a job first to evaluate your investment.

[nouseforaname123]

Would OP get good money from Northwestern with 171/3.9? Chicago job prospects for the partner should be relatively close to NY/Bay Area.

[NYstate]

Can you articulate for us exactly why you want biglaw? What is missing from your current job?
Do you want to be a lawyer? Why would you go to law school with the idea of going back to your current job if you need to do so? Are you sure your old job will take you back if you have a law degree?

OP not one word you have said convinces me that law school is the right move for you. I'm baffled as to why you think this is a good plan. Do you just want a reason to move?

[Golden Bear 11]

Also to people who want his job or similar, typical path is:

Top undergrad (T25 universities, T10 or T20 LACs US News rankings)
Econ, math or finance major
GPA >3.7
Kill interviews in OCI

Of course the less prestigious firms will take from lesser schools or worse GPAs, and quantitative experience helps.

+1 Agree w/ everything this poster said

Interviews include case questions and brain teasers.

[resilience99]

from a financial standpoint it might not make sense, being that you are making 100k with your job. 3 years of lost income along with 100k debt, assuming you will spend all of your 100k savings, just to make a marginally better salary is not the smartest investment. If you are passionately pursuing your goal to be a lawyer than go for it.

[JWalker]

TCR is Penn.

[Dr. Dre]

I would really like to know your path to legal consulting for 100k. please share.

[romothesavior]

Can you articulate for us exactly why you want biglaw? What is missing from your current job?
Do you want to be a lawyer? Why would you go to law school with the idea of going back to your current job if you need to do so? Are you sure your old job will take you back if you have a law degree?

OP not one word you have said convinces me that law school is the right move for you. I'm baffled as to why you think this is a good plan. Do you just want a reason to move?

This was a perfect summary of my thoughts as well. None of this decision makes sense.

[resilience99]

Keep your job. Only 1% of people in the world make 100k or more.

[kenji]

This board is full of K-JD kids and this thread really proves it. OP with work experience should prob solicit advice somewhere else.

Kenji, why in the fuck are you still on TLS? I've never seen someone so adamant that this board sucks and then continually post shitty, useless comments.

But yeah, OP prob should solicit advice from somewhere else.

[dr123]

Go parttime dood.

[homestyle28]

There's a reason why NU outperforms other peer schools at getting biglaw jobs: real-world employers care about demonstrated ability, you've got a unique WE background that is uniquely applicable to law firms. Having gone through OCI with WE, you'll be a hot commodity at a place like boalt or NYU where the majority of the other kids firms are seeing are k-JD.

I understand that most people on this side of things would drop LS in a second to make $100k, but you've already done that and still want to be a lawyer. Paying sticker at boalt or NYU isn't that big a risk for the average student and its less so for you.

[20141023]

.

[M458]

Would OP get good money from Northwestern with 171/3.9? Chicago job prospects for the partner should be relatively close to NY/Bay Area.

He would most likely get in ED if he wanted it, resulting in the scholarship. However, even with that, still might not be worth it to go.

[rickgrimes69]

Why on God's Green Earth would anybody leave an established $100k job to drop $250k on a law degree and struggle through three years running the law school gauntlet, all without any definitive reason or career plan to do so?

OP, what in the hell is wrong with you? Is this some sort of sick joke? Do you just enjoy torturing yourself at great personal expense? I'm actually a little upset you are even considering this.

[Gunnar Stahl]

Why on God's Green Earth would anybody leave an established $100k job to drop $250k on a law degree and struggle through three years running the law school gauntlet, all without any definitive reason or career plan to do so?

OP, what in the hell is wrong with you? Is this some sort of sick joke? Do you just enjoy torturing yourself at great personal expense? I'm actually a little upset you are even considering this.

Reminds me a lot of this, tbh:

http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot. ... ories.html