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I am a rising 3L and have been admitted to my school's MBA program. I have a few weeks to decide whether I would like to pursue the JD/MBA degree or just finish my last year and be done.

Here is my situation: T30 law school, T40 B-school. Definitely top-third grades, probably more like top 25%. I worked for a secondary journal, my note will be published, and I'll be a minor board member. This summer I'm working at a mid-size firm in my home market. The firm doesn't always hire their summer clerks, it's probably about 50/50 on getting an offer. Before law school I had two years of work experience as an insurance underwriter. As far as expenses -- I can apply my law scholarship to next year's tuition, and I should be able to find a TA position in my fourth year which will help enormously with tuition. I estimate paying less than an additional 20k by pursuing the JD/MBA.

My interests: Basically I either want to do corporate/transactional work or I don't want to practice. The firm I'm working for this summer does a great deal of litigation, but does have a small corporate department. I would not at all be opposed to working at a corporation after I graduate and trying to work my way up. I'm also really interested in crowd-funding and social entrepreneurship, and if I could find a start up to take me on then that'd be a home run.

My thought process: This is the major downside I see to doing JD/MBA: Let's say I do it, and I go through Fall recruitment again (I've been assured I will be allowed to do this, furthermore there are more firms coming and a smaller class size to compete with). I have a feeling a lot of firms are going to look at the MBA and think "do you really want to be a lawyer? why the MBA? etc." Plus, they are going to see my firm experience as competition. I want to leave my home market and practice in a bigger city (if I decide to practice), but having all of my work experiences coming from my home market is going to make it difficult to break in at a bigger city. Finally, my firm for this summer may (most likely will) be less likely to extend an offer that would remain open for two years. On the other hand, I've thought about it like this. Sticking with the JD, the worst case scenario is that I don't get an offer, and I have to scrounge around for some work at a smaller firm or do a random low level clerkship. This is a bad scenario to me. The best case scenario is that I get an offer from my firm which does a lot of litigation but pays very well. If I do the JD/MBA, the worst case scenario is that I don't get an offer from my firm, I strike out at OCI, and I start working on finding a business internship for my next summer. The best case scenario is I get an offer from a larger firm in a bigger city that does corporate work, or that I find a job at a cool company.

What do you guys think?

Anonymous User wrote:I am a rising 3L and have been admitted to my school's MBA program. I have a few weeks to decide whether I would like to pursue the JD/MBA degree or just finish my last year and be done.

Here is my situation: T30 law school, T40 B-school. Definitely top-third grades, probably more like top 25%. I worked for a secondary journal, my note will be published, and I'll be a minor board member. This summer I'm working at a mid-size firm in my home market. The firm doesn't always hire their summer clerks, it's probably about 50/50 on getting an offer. Before law school I had two years of work experience as an insurance underwriter. As far as expenses -- I can apply my law scholarship to next year's tuition, and I should be able to find a TA position in my fourth year which will help enormously with tuition. I estimate paying less than an additional 20k by pursuing the JD/MBA.

My interests: Basically I either want to do corporate/transactional work or I don't want to practice. The firm I'm working for this summer does a great deal of litigation, but does have a small corporate department. I would not at all be opposed to working at a corporation after I graduate and trying to work my way up. I'm also really interested in crowd-funding and social entrepreneurship, and if I could find a start up to take me on then that'd be a home run.

My thought process: This is the major downside I see to doing JD/MBA: Let's say I do it, and I go through Fall recruitment again (I've been assured I will be allowed to do this, furthermore there are more firms coming and a smaller class size to compete with). I have a feeling a lot of firms are going to look at the MBA and think "do you really want to be a lawyer? why the MBA? etc." Plus, they are going to see my firm experience as competition. I want to leave my home market and practice in a bigger city (if I decide to practice), but having all of my work experiences coming from my home market is going to make it difficult to break in at a bigger city. Finally, my firm for this summer may (most likely will) be less likely to extend an offer that would remain open for two years. On the other hand, I've thought about it like this. Sticking with the JD, the worst case scenario is that I don't get an offer, and I have to scrounge around for some work at a smaller firm or do a random low level clerkship. This is a bad scenario to me. The best case scenario is that I get an offer from my firm which does a lot of litigation but pays very well. If I do the JD/MBA, the worst case scenario is that I don't get an offer from my firm, I strike out at OCI, and I start working on finding a business internship for my next summer. The best case scenario is I get an offer from a larger firm in a bigger city that does corporate work, or that I find a job at a cool company.

What do you guys think?

Can you do the MBA Part Time? Or even online?

BC?

Part time is a potential option -- the program has a satellite school in my home market. I suppose I could take evening courses. Online is always an option, although not through my school. I recently met an individual that had a graduate degree, worked as a professional in that industry, then received an online MBA and makes a nice living in consulting. I think it would be difficult to translate this result with a law degree, however.

I have also considered graduating with my JD, and then pursuing an MBA at a more prestigious school down the road. However, this ignores the possibility of the "worst case scenario" in terms of securing employment in the short term as highlighted in my OP. I also had my GMAT waived, which is a plus. Not to mention the deal I am getting cannot be replicated financially in the future, absent some incredible W/E plus a killer GMAT score (again, incredible W/E depends on avoiding the "worst case scenario," and my strategy's goal is to essentially minimize the risk of the worst case scenario).

My school is Iowa. I see no reason not to share this. I've already told my firm that I am considering the JD/MBA, and firms I interview with in the future are going to have concerns about my interest in law independent of anything posted here. For better or worse, I have a full disclosure policy. That being said, It isn't that I lack an interest in the law (in fact I find it fascinating), it is more than I am seeking to focus my legal career toward corporate law matters.

any thoughts?