Running a Law Firm like a Business Forum

[NYC Law]

How is this thread still going?

[Maserati91]

In short, law is a terrible way to get rich. Without corporate ownership structure, there is a huge limit to your leverage and thus how much money you can make off the backs of other peoples' work.

There are, however, a crapton of ways to make money through investments and whatnot. You may not make CEO money, but you can facilitate income if you have investment knowledge. The OP is a business major, so he'll probably learn a few methods.

I've read your sentences a few times, but I'm still not sure they mean anything.

What do you mean? I addressed that starting a very successful law firm may not make as much money for the founder as a successful company without a partnership, but one could still produce as much money as a CEO in a non-partnership (or whatever that jargon is).

If it's because I'm incoherently rambling, I apologize. I should start proofreading more often.

I've been looking up law businesses and came across an interesting article about a man who worked as a corporate bankruptcy lawyer for 20 years and then left to start his own hedge fund.. very interesting. Apparently WSJ has a whole blog dedicated to this switch from corporate law to investment banking or hedge funds. What do you guys think?

[SOCRATiC]

I've been looking up law businesses and came across an interesting article about a man who worked as a corporate bankruptcy lawyer for 20 years and then left to start his own hedge fund.. very interesting. Apparently WSJ has a whole blog dedicated to this switch from corporate law to investment banking or hedge funds. What do you guys think?

Prospective law students that actively seek out these presumably available exit options are not that interested in studying law (probably). Since their undergraduate major was insufficient for achieving "glory", they see the study of law as a stepping stone to their path to riches (delusional assumption).

In reality, they haven't given a single thought to what practicing law actually entails (am I right or am I right?), and only spend time on fantasizing about themselves becoming some corporate hotshot in the cleaner parts of a metropolitan city (I'm super cereal).

That's all that they want to do, so they refuse to think about how terrible it is to be an associate - billing endless hours and not being able to think about becoming a superstar (They actually think this way), or becoming a $12/hr sweatshop worker at a law factory (Because they know they'll get biglaw), or evaluating whether their outlandish assumptions about possible career paths after law school ought to be taken with a humongous sack of salt.

[thesealocust]

What do you mean? I addressed that starting a very successful law firm may not make as much money for the founder as a successful company without a partnership, but one could still produce as much money as a CEO in a non-partnership (or whatever that jargon is).

This still doesn't make any sense. You have two people, one makes more money than the other. The one who makes less invests his money... the one who makes more takes it all out in $20 bills and builds a fortress out of it?

[nphsbuckeye]

I've been looking up law businesses and came across an interesting article about a man who worked as a corporate bankruptcy lawyer for 20 years and then left to start his own hedge fund.. very interesting. Apparently WSJ has a whole blog dedicated to this switch from corporate law to investment banking or hedge funds. What do you guys think?

Don't enter law school before you have done your due diligence. That one guy may be the only person to ever go from bankruptcy to a hedge fund. It's possible, but extremely rare for a lawyer to make enough money to start a HF, IB, VC, PE, etc.

[r6_philly]

I've been looking up law businesses and came across an interesting article about a man who worked as a corporate bankruptcy lawyer for 20 years and then left to start his own hedge fund.. very interesting. Apparently WSJ has a whole blog dedicated to this switch from corporate law to investment banking or hedge funds. What do you guys think?

Prospective law students that actively seek out these presumably available exit options are not that interested in studying law (probably). Since their undergraduate major was insufficient for achieving "glory", they see the study of law as a stepping stone to their path to riches (delusional assumption).

In reality, they haven't given a single thought to what practicing law actually entails (am I right or am I right?), and only spend time on fantasizing about themselves becoming some corporate hotshot in the cleaner parts of a metropolitan city (I'm super cereal).

That's all that they want to do, so they refuse to think about how terrible it is to be an associate - billing endless hours and not being able to think about becoming a superstar (They actually think this way), or becoming a $12/hr sweatshop worker at a law factory (Because they know they'll get biglaw), or evaluating whether their outlandish assumptions about possible career paths after law school ought to be taken with a humongous sack of salt.

There are of course success stories. But for one that succeeds, 1000's fail. The difference in approaching these things is - you should think that you "can" be that one, not you "will" be that one.