Will CPA designation help with 1L summer employment? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Would being a CPA with 3-4 years of big 4 experience significantly boost the chances of landing a lucrative lawfirm 1L summer gig?

[270910]

No.

I mean, yes. But not really.

It might make you slightly more attractive, the way any life accomplishment would, but the 1L firm jobs tend to be doled out on connection / diversity / grade grounds with things like work experience being comparatively less important.

[Anonymous User]

I'm sort of in the same boat. I have a year of B4 experience, but haven't taken all the CPA exam pieces. The big 4 experience and the MS in Accounting did not seem to help with Big Law, but maybe it helped with a boutique firm I got a job with. I can't say because I am not sure what the determinative factor was.

I was considering doing the rest of the exam over my 1L summer, but then I talked to two partners at BigLaw firms who said that the CPA designation did not add much of a plus, but that the accounting background background does. They were in Corporate law. Maybe it would be different if they were in tax or T&E.

So there really is no firm answer to your question.

[TUP]

If you have the requisite education credits and work experience, why not? I doubt it can hurt, and with Becker prep the exam process is relatively quick and easy.