Consulting - the end of a legal career? Forum

[ToTransferOrNot]

So...no perspectives on the grades question posted above?

I went through a round of interviews with McKinsey... I got the sense that everyone had pretty high grades, and it really was HYSCCN only.

Edit: In other words, this isn't a backstop incase you miss the biglaw train. If anything, getting a good consulting gig is probably harder than getting biglaw.

[TaipeiMort]

Consulting is awesome. I'm glad few T6 grads seriously consider this as a viable option (less competition for me). The work is more exciting and the exit options are amazing. I think few try because t6 law students are generally risk averse.

[motiontodismiss]

100% hearsay. And consulting just like IB and biglaw are generally not considered permanent type careers. And as if working for an asshole partner who makes 20x what you make and bills half the time and still thinks you're too expensive and taking directions from a 22 year old snot-nosed investment banking analyst at 3am is any better. Every job I think has its share of suck. Some more than others.

Very true, most jobs where you make 6 figures under 30 are pretty miserable. Travel though, adds a whole new level of suckage IMO.

The trick with avoiding delays is ALWAYS flying out at the crack of dawn and NEVER taking peaktime flights. You'll fly out on time short of weather in which case nobody's going anywhere anyway.

This only works if you're not flying out of the boonies.

I guess. Regional jets do definitely add a whole nother level of suck, I'll give you that.

[trojanfan06]

So lower t14 is out? What kind of grades are they looking for because I know for undergrad they are super selective, heard from 3.7+ to 3.9+ minimum for MBB

[motiontodismiss]

I suspect with pre-law school work experience and good interviewing skills and good grades lower T14 probably has a chance.

[Lonagan]

wtf *is* consulting?

[Renzo]

wtf *is* consulting?

It's firing people. A little more than that, but mostly firing people.

[NoleinNY]

wtf *is* consulting?

It's firing people. A little more than that, but mostly firing people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7k6FwXJhNk

[Eric475]

haha was gonna ask about up in the air, thought he was a consultant in it. the movie makes it seem not all that glamorous

[Blindmelon]

wtf *is* consulting?

It's firing people. A little more than that, but mostly firing people.

This.

[Blindmelon]

I suspect with pre-law school work experience and good interviewing skills and good grades lower T14 probably has a chance.

Depending on your LS, a JD could hurt your chances of getting in these companies. I snuck in with an unprestigious UG somehow, but most of my coworkers were Harvard/Duke/some random international schools/Swarthmore/Williams, etc.

[fugitivejammer]

Any ideas on what caliber of student is competitive for consulting out of law school? Obviously I'm hearing hysccn, but are we talking top 10-20% of class kinda thing? Or is its structure a bit more robust, and students throughout the class compete for different levels of consulting, not unlike the private law firm competition.

[Lonagan]

wtf *is* consulting?

It's firing people. A little more than that, but mostly firing people.

So the Bobs in Office Space are more or less accurate?

[Stringer Bell]

So lower t14 is out?

McKinsey does interview on campus at UVA, but I have no idea what the placement is like.

[Renzo]

Any ideas on what caliber of student is competitive for consulting out of law school? Obviously I'm hearing hysccn, but are we talking top 10-20% of class kinda thing? Or is its structure a bit more robust, and students throughout the class compete for different levels of consulting, not unlike the private law firm competition.

I can't say if it's more or less competitive, but the metrics are very different. For example, the consultancies care very much about your standardized test scores (LSAT in the case of law school), even after you have grades. The interviews for consulting are more involved, and matter more--it's not just about personalities (like in biglaw).

[Anonymous User]

Consulting is awesome. I'm glad few T6 grads seriously consider this as a viable option (less competition for me). The work is more exciting and the exit options are amazing. I think few try because t6 law students are generally risk averse.

or maybe just came to law school so they could practice law.

[IAFG]

Consulting is awesome. I'm glad few T6 grads seriously consider this as a viable option (less competition for me). The work is more exciting and the exit options are amazing. I think few try because t6 law students are generally risk averse.

or maybe just came to law school so they could practice law.

whoops, accidental use of anon

[XxSpyKEx]

Edit: In other words, this isn't a backstop incase you miss the biglaw train. If anything, getting a good consulting gig is probably harder than getting biglaw.

Just to add to this, the liklihood of getting into management consulting with from law school is incredibly low. I heard the other year McKinsey hired something like 5-10 JDs total (mostly from Harvard, and a couple from Columbia). My understanding is that they, like most business recruiters, don't care much about grades at all (but they do care that you went to a TOP school). My guess is that they, like most b-student recruiters, look at things like extracurriculars, prior work experience, etc. (essentially that you somehow have proven yourself in a leadership position), and how you answer the interview questions (I would imagine you aren't going to get the typical biglaw BS questions, such as "tell me about yourself," "why law school," and "what has been your favorite class"). In other words, the typical liberal arts major law student who has zero work experience, took zero leadership positions in extracirriculars, and is a "bad interviewer" with biglaw questions, is not going to be able to get into management consulting.

[Anonymous User]

Edit: In other words, this isn't a backstop incase you miss the biglaw train. If anything, getting a good consulting gig is probably harder than getting biglaw.

Just to add to this, the liklihood of getting into management consulting with from law school is incredibly low. I heard the other year McKinsey hired something like 5-10 JDs total (mostly from Harvard, and a couple from Columbia). My understanding is that they, like most business recruiters, don't care much about grades at all (but they do care that you went to a TOP school). My guess is that they, like most b-student recruiters, look at things like extracurriculars, prior work experience, etc. (essentially that you somehow have proven yourself in a leadership position), and how you answer the interview questions (I would imagine you aren't going to get the typical biglaw BS questions, such as "tell me about yourself," "why law school," and "what has been your favorite class"). In other words, the typical liberal arts major law student who has zero work experience, took zero leadership positions in extracirriculars, and is a "bad interviewer" with biglaw questions, is not going to be able to get into management consulting.

Would JD/CPA from T30 with 7 years work xp help break into MC?

[BruceWayne]

I'm not sure where this "top 6" thing is coming from for management consulting. That's really an arbitrary distinction created by TLS for law placement (and it's not even a real grouping for that outside of this website). Management consulting firms recruit from several top 14 schools but mainly HYS. Besides a lot of it has more to do with your previous WE than which of the top 14 you attend. But in terms of consistently hiring candidates their focus is on HYS.

[Seally]

Anybody have any info on consulting? Like, if I take a consulting position right out of law school will that end the possibility of moving back into the law? Anybody have any experience with this? Do consulting firms allow JD's time to take the bar before beginning? I know hardly anything about consulting, I'm just curious. Danke.

Why are you getting your JD then? Seems like kind of a waste.

McKinsey actively recruits JDs from top law schools. In order to get an MBA from a business school that McKinsey would recruit from, you'd need significant work experience of the kind that most undergrad majors wouldn't lead to.

This is one of the few examples of JDs being portable degrees.

Let's say the if you're a Law applicant particularly interested in Business positions, go with the JD/MBA, offers much more mobility.

[dood]

...

[XxSpyKEx]

Anybody have any info on consulting? Like, if I take a consulting position right out of law school will that end the possibility of moving back into the law? Anybody have any experience with this? Do consulting firms allow JD's time to take the bar before beginning? I know hardly anything about consulting, I'm just curious. Danke.

Why are you getting your JD then? Seems like kind of a waste.

McKinsey actively recruits JDs from top law schools. In order to get an MBA from a business school that McKinsey would recruit from, you'd need significant work experience of the kind that most undergrad majors wouldn't lead to.

This is one of the few examples of JDs being portable degrees.

Let's say the if you're a Law applicant particularly interested in Business positions, go with the JD/MBA, offers much more mobility.

I’m not sure that ToTransferOrNot’s point is completely accurate. McKinsey does actively “recruit” at top law schools, but it hires a very small number of them (like I said in my previous post, I’ve heard the number as between 5-10 nationwide last year, mostly from Harvard). If McKinsey hiring is like just about any other business employer, I’d bet my wallet that all of those people that got offers had significant leadership experience (through work experience, extracurriculars, etc.). So it’s not like you just go to straight to a top law school with a liberal arts degree, have 0 work experience, have 0 leadership experience, get neither of those 2 in law school (like the typical law school grad), and then go off into management consulting.

The JD/MBA is stupid for business positions because you could just save 2 years, get just the MBA, and then get a business position. Or even better, you could go work for 2 years (go start a successful business if you were a liberal arts major and now no one will hire you), and then get an MBA in the same timeframe. If anything, I would imagine a lot of business employers will question why you want to work for them and not practice law after getting a JD.

[IAFG]

I’m not sure that ToTransferOrNot’s point is completely accurate. McKinsey does actively “recruit” at top law schools, but it hires a very small number of them (like I said in my previous post, I’ve heard the number as between 5-10 nationwide last year, mostly from Harvard). If McKinsey hiring is like just about any other business employer, I’d bet my wallet that all of those people that got offers had significant leadership experience (through work experience, extracurriculars, etc.). So it’s not like you just go to straight to a top law school with a liberal arts degree, have 0 work experience, have 0 leadership experience, get neither of those 2 in law school (like the typical law school grad), and then go off into management consulting.

The JD/MBA is stupid for business positions because you could just save 2 years, get just the MBA, and then get a business position. Or even better, you could go work for 2 years (go start a successful business if you were a liberal arts major and now no one will hire you), and then get an MBA in the same timeframe. If anything, I would imagine a lot of business employers will question why you want to work for them and not practice law after getting a JD.

You and I must define "successful business" differently.

[TaipeiMort]

Edit: In other words, this isn't a backstop incase you miss the biglaw train. If anything, getting a good consulting gig is probably harder than getting biglaw.

Just to add to this, the liklihood of getting into management consulting with from law school is incredibly low. I heard the other year McKinsey hired something like 5-10 JDs total (mostly from Harvard, and a couple from Columbia). My understanding is that they, like most business recruiters, don't care much about grades at all (but they do care that you went to a TOP school). My guess is that they, like most b-student recruiters, look at things like extracurriculars, prior work experience, etc. (essentially that you somehow have proven yourself in a leadership position), and how you answer the interview questions (I would imagine you aren't going to get the typical biglaw BS questions, such as "tell me about yourself," "why law school," and "what has been your favorite class"). In other words, the typical liberal arts major law student who has zero work experience, took zero leadership positions in extracirriculars, and is a "bad interviewer" with biglaw questions, is not going to be able to get into management consulting.

I don't think the 5-10 number is accurate. I know of a couple (and there may be more) uchicago law students who obtained Mckinsey spots last year. They also have several active recruiting events for JD/MD/PhD students per year. It seems like a lot of effort if they are only snatching up around ten per year. The truth is no one knows how many JD/PhD/ MBAs Mckinsey hires because they don't publish this data.