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I have deferred law school and will be entering CCN in fall of 2019. Currently working as an analyst at an investment bank and feel as if I am really just killing time until I enter law school. Would there be any benefit in me prepping for the CFA? I am fairly confident I’d be able to pass level 1, and would then prep hard to take L2 next June. I am interested primarily in BigLaw litigation post-law school so I am not sure how much of a benefit passing the first two levels would give me.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation means little in the world of law, but is a significant achievement in the IB/finance world of business. If you have the time & energy, then it might be wise to take the exams in order to take advantage of your current knowledge & to have a fallback plan if you dislike law school.

With respect to any benefit of passing Level 1 & Level 2 of the 3 part CFA designation, you will get little to no benefit in the practice of biglaw litigation. Also, if you don't have the required 4 years of relevant work experience, pursuit of the CFA while employed as an attorney may be fruitless.

I don't know how much experience you have in the financial world, but I would take these exams only as a back-up plan if law school doesn't work out.

Amaze14 wrote:I have deferred law school and will be entering CCN in fall of 2019. Currently working as an analyst at an investment bank and feel as if I am really just killing time until I enter law school. Would there be any benefit in me prepping for the CFA? I am fairly confident I’d be able to pass level 1, and would then prep hard to take L2 next June. I am interested primarily in BigLaw litigation post-law school so I am not sure how much of a benefit passing the first two levels would give me.

I think there’s an advantage if you want to go all the way to level 3. If you look at the CFA charterholder WE requirements legal work involving the “investment community” goes towards the requirement. Obviously corporate is the cleanest experience to pitch to the Institute, but if you did securities litigation I think you could make a compelling pitch as well if you advise the right sort of clients. Though if you’re not FO at your bank doing L1 could be advantageous if you want to move over to the business side later on, though doing corporate law would probably be required for that to happen without an MBA.