Suggestions for JD interested in consulting Forum

[acr]

2L at a T20 here.

I missed the big law boat (but still mass mailing and hoping to snag something at 3L OCI).

If working at a firm doesn't work out, I'm interested in going into management consulting.

Looking for some advice from JDs who have gone into consulting directly out of law school, and for some basic information on what it takes to get there/the path you took. What should I start doing now to make myself more competitive?

I'll be working in a consulting role with entrepreneurs this summer, and I've started to reach out to contacts I know in consulting.

[Anonymous User]

If you are thinking MBB, unless they come to your campus, you really need to get strong referrals to get interviews.
Once you get an interview, it's nothing but your fit/case interview skills. You will be meeting two interviewers each round, and you need to ace both interviews to pass to the next round. Then it comes to the written case which you can't even prepare for.
The gist is, MBB is really a long shot for most of JDs and even MBAs.

[acr]

If you are thinking MBB, unless they come to your campus, you really need to get strong referrals to get interviews.
Once you get an interview, it's nothing but your fit/case interview skills. You will be meeting two interviewers each round, and you need to ace both interviews to pass to the next round. Then it comes to the written case which you can't even prepare for.
The gist is, MBB is really a long shot for most of JDs and even MBAs.

I would certainly take an MBB job, but have no expectations of landing one. What kind of other consulting opportunities are there, maybe at the Big 4 or other firms?

[Anonymous User]

If you are thinking MBB, unless they come to your campus, you really need to get strong referrals to get interviews.
Once you get an interview, it's nothing but your fit/case interview skills. You will be meeting two interviewers each round, and you need to ace both interviews to pass to the next round. Then it comes to the written case which you can't even prepare for.
The gist is, MBB is really a long shot for most of JDs and even MBAs.

I would certainly take an MBB job, but have no expectations of landing one. What kind of other consulting opportunities are there, maybe at the Big 4 or other firms?

Lower tiered consulting firms traditionally don't hire JDs. Deloitte doesn't even hire M&A lawyers for M&A consultant positions, I had a manager pushing my resume up and suggesting that I'm willing to take a seniority cut to analyst title, HR simply says it's firm policy to not hire anyone without consulting experience. Boutique firms are probably out as wellI, based on your line of questioning, I don't think you have any consulting experience/network to leverage. If you have M&A/IB background, LEK might worth a shot.

[acr]

If you are thinking MBB, unless they come to your campus, you really need to get strong referrals to get interviews.
Once you get an interview, it's nothing but your fit/case interview skills. You will be meeting two interviewers each round, and you need to ace both interviews to pass to the next round. Then it comes to the written case which you can't even prepare for.
The gist is, MBB is really a long shot for most of JDs and even MBAs.

I would certainly take an MBB job, but have no expectations of landing one. What kind of other consulting opportunities are there, maybe at the Big 4 or other firms?

Lower tiered consulting firms traditionally don't hire JDs. Deloitte doesn't even hire M&A lawyers for M&A consultant positions, I had a manager pushing my resume up and suggesting that I'm willing to take a seniority cut to analyst title, HR simply says it's firm policy to not hire anyone without consulting experience. Boutique firms are probably out as wellI, based on your line of questioning, I don't think you have any consulting experience/network to leverage. If you have M&A/IB background, LEK might worth a shot.

So my takeaway is that breaking into consulting is highly unlikely haha

[Anonymous User]

Hi. I went into healthcare consulting straight out of law school, bar passage not required. All consultants were JDs.

-Pay was decent but considerably less than you'd make at a biglaw or probably medium sized firm.
-Travel was minimal (however, I worked for a smaller firm), though I know consultants in other sectors that travel 3-4 days per week.
-Billable hour expectations were reasonable/definitely more reasonable than you'd find in biglaw.

For me when I was trying to land the job, my prior healthcare experience was a lot more important to them than my consulting experience (which was none).

I think the fact that you're working in consulting this summer will help significantly. Focus as much as you can on building relationship with your co-workers and your clients.

A lot of consulting is having absolutely no clue how to do something, but learning how to do it and do it fast for a client who needs it.

FWIW, I left consulting after less than 2 years. I hated it. I very much enjoyed not having a "typical" day, and the travel was fun, but I couldn't stand the people/personalities. Plus, my particular firm had some questionable ethics, especially surrounding billing.

Happy to answer any questions.