Top Law Schools

Any thoughts? Would either like to practice for a couple years then get more into the business side of things or try to leverage my way into a more business centric career out of school. My main concerns are
1. Would the additional year be worth it in the long run for an MBA?
2. Would the MBA help increase my earnings/ marketability coming out of school? (this is more focused on business side careers)

I'd like to hear what others have to say about this. I have heard mixed reviews about the JD/MBA. Some say that it would have helped with understanding the corporate culture/lingo because they ended up going into corporate law. I have heard others say it can show a lack of commitment to any one thing (business or law). What is the consensus here? I would be interested in this if it meant better prospects in the legal world. However, if someone is just wanting to get into business, I imagine spending 3 years of their life at law school would not benefit them at all.

For me, the reason I would consider it is to have the most doors open upon graduation. I have an interest in practicing law, if I didnt I wouldn't be in law school, but if a JD/MBA would provide other opportunities that I feel like would be a better fit for me professionally and financially I would follow that route.

Do any TLSers have personal experience with this?

It would be great to hear from someone who is either enrolled in a JD/MBA or was previously

+1

I am a JD/MBA at a top school. I think it's funny how many posts I see on here about the JD/MBA or taking the GMAT these days. So many law students have this fake "eww business school!" reaction, but it seems like many people are pretty jealous and just can't do math or came straight from undergrad so they could never get in. The number of people on this forum posting about consulting/banking/business school seems to bear out this impression.

1. Let me forever kill this notion that having a JD/MBA somehow diminishes your professional opportunities. This is patently false, and it's perpetuated by people who have no experience with it and want to validate only having a JD. After having gone through on campus recruiting, I found it extremely easy to get offers for the summer. Partners specifically said they think it's very valuable to have lawyers who have some formal training in finance. If you want to practice law, the MBA is helpful, and it is an asset in recruiting. Period. I had a great time as a summer last year at a top firm, and I will be spending next summer at a top bank. They also liked the combo.

2. I know nothing about BC. I think recruiting is kind of tough there for law firms, and I think the same may be true of the business school. Recruiting is extremely strong at both my law school and my business school, so my experience might be different. Before jumping into this thing, really do your homework and figure out what kinds of jobs people are getting coming out of both. The combination of two schools with mediocre prospects probably won't add up to better prospects. This is a huge investment, and you need to make sure that the opportunities justify the cost. The long run value of it is going to depend a lot on what you study, who you know, and what your previous experience is. B school recruiting is much more experience based, so it can be very hit or miss.

Borg wrote:I am a JD/MBA at a top school. I think it's funny how many posts I see on here about the JD/MBA or taking the GMAT these days. So many law students have this fake "eww business school!" reaction, but it seems like many people are pretty jealous and just can't do math or came straight from undergrad so they could never get in. The number of people on this forum posting about consulting/banking/business school seems to bear out this impression.

1. Let me forever kill this notion that having a JD/MBA somehow diminishes your professional opportunities. This is patently false, and it's perpetuated by people who have no experience with it and want to validate only having a JD. After having gone through on campus recruiting, I found it extremely easy to get offers for the summer. Partners specifically said they think it's very valuable to have lawyers who have some formal training in finance. If you want to practice law, the MBA is helpful, and it is an asset in recruiting. Period. I had a great time as a summer last year at a top firm, and I will be spending next summer at a top bank. They also liked the combo.

2. I know nothing about BC. I think recruiting is kind of tough there for law firms, and I think the same may be true of the business school. Recruiting is extremely strong at both my law school and my business school, so my experience might be different. Before jumping into this thing, really do your homework and figure out what kinds of jobs people are getting coming out of both. The combination of two schools with mediocre prospects probably won't add up to better prospects. This is a huge investment, and you need to make sure that the opportunities justify the cost. The long run value of it is going to depend a lot on what you study, who you know, and what your previous experience is. B school recruiting is much more experience based, so it can be very hit or miss.

Finally a very sensible post on the topic.

Borg wrote:I am a JD/MBA at a top school. I think it's funny how many posts I see on here about the JD/MBA or taking the GMAT these days. So many law students have this fake "eww business school!" reaction, but it seems like many people are pretty jealous and just can't do math or came straight from undergrad so they could never get in. The number of people on this forum posting about consulting/banking/business school seems to bear out this impression.

1. Let me forever kill this notion that having a JD/MBA somehow diminishes your professional opportunities. This is patently false, and it's perpetuated by people who have no experience with it and want to validate only having a JD. After having gone through on campus recruiting, I found it extremely easy to get offers for the summer. Partners specifically said they think it's very valuable to have lawyers who have some formal training in finance. If you want to practice law, the MBA is helpful, and it is an asset in recruiting. Period. I had a great time as a summer last year at a top firm, and I will be spending next summer at a top bank. They also liked the combo.

2. I know nothing about BC. I think recruiting is kind of tough there for law firms, and I think the same may be true of the business school. Recruiting is extremely strong at both my law school and my business school, so my experience might be different. Before jumping into this thing, really do your homework and figure out what kinds of jobs people are getting coming out of both. The combination of two schools with mediocre prospects probably won't add up to better prospects. This is a huge investment, and you need to make sure that the opportunities justify the cost. The long run value of it is going to depend a lot on what you study, who you know, and what your previous experience is. B school recruiting is much more experience based, so it can be very hit or miss.

Agreed. As a JD/MBA at T25 b-school and law school institutions, my experience has been very positive (with the exception of the extra year in school, which just simply stinks). I would do it over again, if given the chance. As an added bonus to the above-listed pros, every time I had an interviewer with a business background or JD/MBA degree, we immediately hit it off, leading to great interviews. However, as posted above, I would recommend finding JD/MBA students at your school and talking to them about their experiences. My guess is that it can vary from school to school.

Agreed. As a JD/MBA at T25 b-school and law school institutions, my experience has been very positive (with the exception of the extra year in school, which just simply stinks). I would do it over again, if given the chance. As an added bonus to the above-listed pros, every time I had an interviewer with a business background or JD/MBA degree, we immediately hit it off, leading to great interviews. However, as posted above, I would recommend finding JD/MBA students at your school and talking to them about their experiences. My guess is that it can vary from school to school.

Do you think the JD/MBA has, or will, open more doors for you in the near future and long term?

droges wrote:

Agreed. As a JD/MBA at T25 b-school and law school institutions, my experience has been very positive (with the exception of the extra year in school, which just simply stinks). I would do it over again, if given the chance. As an added bonus to the above-listed pros, every time I had an interviewer with a business background or JD/MBA degree, we immediately hit it off, leading to great interviews. However, as posted above, I would recommend finding JD/MBA students at your school and talking to them about their experiences. My guess is that it can vary from school to school.

Do you think the JD/MBA has, or will, open more doors for you in the near future and long term?

You need to keep your expectations realistic. Recruiters react positively, but it's not like anyone is going to come and offer you a job as a CEO just because of the JD/MBA. You need to put in maximum effort and show total competence in whatever you choose to do, just like anyone else would. Then you need to rise up through the ranks. The credential looks good, but you need to be able to back it up with the right knowledge and work ethic to really get anywhere.

Also, you're thinking about doing it at Boston College. It's a good school, but there are a lot of others that are ranked higher and have better alumni networks. Just like any other JD or MBA at BC, you would need to rank highly to get interviews with law firms and network like hell to get business jobs. No one is going to hand you anything just because you happen to be enrolled in two schools.

I think the combination has opened a lot of doors for me. I don't think the bank I'm working at would have been interested otherwise, because I hadn't been immersed in finance to the extent that I am now. I've learned a ton in b school that I didn't know before, and I can see how it's going to be applicable in my career. I also think it will make it much easier to make the case for a transition in interviews if I want to go to the business side later on in my career.

Are there any MBA programs left where you can "backdoor" in through the JD? I know they have tightened up a lot of those loopholes, but I wasn't sure if any are still known to exist. Specifically in the T10 law.

droges wrote:

Agreed. As a JD/MBA at T25 b-school and law school institutions, my experience has been very positive (with the exception of the extra year in school, which just simply stinks). I would do it over again, if given the chance. As an added bonus to the above-listed pros, every time I had an interviewer with a business background or JD/MBA degree, we immediately hit it off, leading to great interviews. However, as posted above, I would recommend finding JD/MBA students at your school and talking to them about their experiences. My guess is that it can vary from school to school.

Do you think the JD/MBA has, or will, open more doors for you in the near future and long term?

For me personally, it has. Last summer, I worked in-house at a large financial securities firm that almost exclusively takes JD/MBAs as interns. They don't give full-time offers straight out of school, but having that internship on my resume worked wonders in terms of grabbing other interviewers' attention. Also, the law firm where I will be working this summer and hope to be full-time next year hires a large number of JD/MBAs in its corporate transactional department. I've wanted to do M&A work since my first year in the program, so I definitely feel as though doors have been opened through the joint degree program. Like the other poster is stressing, my guess is that my experience may be school-specific, but I'm not at a "top program" by TLS standards. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

bernaldiaz wrote:Are there any MBA programs left where you can "backdoor" in through the JD? I know they have tightened up a lot of those loopholes, but I wasn't sure if any are still known to exist. Specifically in the T10 law.

Harvard is known for letting some people backdoor into the b-school. It's probably still extremely unlikely though.

droges wrote:Any thoughts? Would either like to practice for a couple years then get more into the business side of things or try to leverage my way into a more business centric career out of school. My main concerns are
1. Would the additional year be worth it in the long run for an MBA?
2. Would the MBA help increase my earnings/ marketability coming out of school? (this is more focused on business side careers)

1) No, not really for a school like BC. If you could finagle some sort of substantial scholarship it might make sense.
2) To a limited degree it will. The MBA signals that you understand something about business beyond the horribly rudimentary coverage that you can get in a law school. The BC degree will be of some value, but overall that b-school doesn't really provide for a super impressive credential. You would probably still need to be in the competitive GPA range for legal recruiting. You will only be as marketable to a business employer as any other MBA with similar experience.

bdubs wrote:

bernaldiaz wrote:Are there any MBA programs left where you can "backdoor" in through the JD? I know they have tightened up a lot of those loopholes, but I wasn't sure if any are still known to exist. Specifically in the T10 law.

Harvard is known for letting some people backdoor into the b-school. It's probably still extremely unlikely though.

I thought I heard they had tightened that up quite a bit. What I would do for that dual degree, though.

I don't have much to add, but I went to BC and there were a few JD/MBAs that started in my 1L class. Those JD/MBAs didn't seem to do any better or worse in finding legal employment that traditional JDs. Granted, I can't tell you that it had no effect not knowing the class rank of these students, but it isn't as if they all ended up at top law firms.

I think I would echo the statements that while BC is a good school for both JD and MBA, it isn't seen a top school in either category and you will have to really stand out to be heavily sought after prior to/upon graduation. The main concern is that it is another $40k for another year of tuition. I don't think that the benefits are worth $40k.

At some point you need to start specializing and gaining real skills. If you want to potentially land a business job, it is possible with the right biglaw experience, but it is certainly not that common to make the switch (at least not early in your career). It sounds like you want a business side job, so I don't quite understand why you would go to law school planning to leave law a few years after you start. Why not just get an MBA and get on with the business side employment? An MBA is cheaper, is only two years and will probably actually get you business side job. If you don't do well enough at BC to land a biglaw gig, then it is going to be pretty difficult to parlay that JD into any significant business side job.

bernaldiaz wrote:

bdubs wrote:

bernaldiaz wrote:Are there any MBA programs left where you can "backdoor" in through the JD? I know they have tightened up a lot of those loopholes, but I wasn't sure if any are still known to exist. Specifically in the T10 law.

Harvard is known for letting some people backdoor into the b-school. It's probably still extremely unlikely though.

I thought I heard they had tightened that up quite a bit. What I would do for that dual degree, though.

Guess who else has a Harvard JD/MBA? THIS GUY:

bernaldiaz wrote:

bdubs wrote:

bernaldiaz wrote:Are there any MBA programs left where you can "backdoor" in through the JD? I know they have tightened up a lot of those loopholes, but I wasn't sure if any are still known to exist. Specifically in the T10 law.

Harvard is known for letting some people backdoor into the b-school. It's probably still extremely unlikely though.

I thought I heard they had tightened that up quite a bit. What I would do for that dual degree, though.

Completely anecdotal, but I know many more people from my class who applied for and were rejected from the B-School (despite being enrolled in the law school) than those who were accepted.