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My suggestion based on family experience and my job experience, try to get into a good regional MBA program in a region that is experiencing good economic growth and/or has a bright future. Then work your butt off to get up near the top of your class, and be sure to pick a specialization that not only interests you, but has a bright future in that region.
Besides, law school is terribly chaotic the first year and boring the next 2 years, but you still have to work your butt off. Then, you face an over-crowded labor market, and you'll be really lucky to land a part-time hourly job looking up deeds on residential property, or working in a shoe store, if you're just lucky.
I don't have a law degree, but I have a bunch of secondary school and college friends from long ago who have told me this, after successful, old style careers.
My suggestion based on family experience and my job experience, try to get into a good regional MBA program in a region that is experiencing good economic growth and/or has a bright future. Then work your butt off to get up near the top of your class, and be sure to pick a specialization that not only interests you, but has a bright future in that region.
Besides, law school is terribly chaotic the first year and boring the next 2 years, but you still have to work your butt off. Then, you face an over-crowded labor market, and you'll be really lucky to land a part-time hourly job looking up deeds on residential property, or working in a shoe store, if you're just lucky.
I don't have a law degree, but I have a bunch of secondary school and college friends from long ago who have told me this, after successful, old style careers.
L.L.M./M.L.S are a master's degree, not an undergraduate degree.
LLM is an advanced degree past a JD for people who want to specialize. They’re a waste of money unless it’s Tax from NYU.
An MLS is often an online masters program for warm bodies who can sign up for student loans. There’s no need for an MLS. The only reason I could think of is for those who become expert witnesses.
Law school was an awesome investment for me, graduating in 2012. Before law school, I was making ~70k; my first job after law school was $170k/yr (the starting salary for that job is now closer to $190k in 2018). Last year I made >$400k, and I have a great work life balance as I've been in-house for nearly four years and get home before 6:30pm 95% of the time.
There are TONS of people who say its a terrible investment because the great jobs aren't guaranteed, but why should they be? There are lots of lazy law students. I was very diligent and it paid off.
L.L.M./M.L.S are a master's degree, not an undergraduate degree.
No sh*t. If you read the thread, you'd see there is a discussion of this. LLM is a Master of Laws, which one would get after a J.D. There was, discussion, however, of some kind of undergraduate or other non-law degree called MLS or something similar. In either case, whether it is a Masters (that is not an LLM) or an undergraduate degree, it would make no sense for someone who already had a J.D. to get one.
My suggestion based on family experience and my job experience, try to get into a good regional MBA program in a region that is experiencing good economic growth and/or has a bright future. Then work your butt off to get up near the top of your class, and be sure to pick a specialization that not only interests you, but has a bright future in that region.
Besides, law school is terribly chaotic the first year and boring the next 2 years, but you still have to work your butt off. Then, you face an over-crowded labor market, and you'll be really lucky to land a part-time hourly job looking up deeds on residential property, or working in a shoe store, if you're just lucky.
I don't have a law degree, but I have a bunch of secondary school and college friends from long ago who have told me this, after successful, old style careers.
I wouldn't bother to get an MBA, either, unless it was from a Top 10 school, or an employer was paying for at least some of it, along with some combination of doing it part time while still working at a decent job.
Law school is sometimes stressful, but mostly all 3 years are interesting and fun. Beats the heck out of working a real job.
No sh*t. If you read the thread, you'd see there is a discussion of this. LLM is a Master of Laws, which one would get after a J.D. There was, discussion, however, of some kind of undergraduate or other non-law degree called MLS or something similar. In either case, whether it is a Masters (that is not an LLM) or an undergraduate degree, it would make no sense for someone who already had a J.D. to get one.
No one said than an MLS/MSL program is for people with a JD. It's explicitly NOT for someone with a JD, but it is a post-bachelor's program for non-lawyers who want a better understanding of the law and ability to interact with lawyers and the legal system as a non-lawyer.
My caution was about calling it a "Master of Law" degree, because it's not an LL.M. although I recognize that most laypeople don't really know what a LL.M. actually is.
Why would someone get some kind of undergraduate law degree if they already have a J.D.? That makes no sense.
A paralegal certification (or even no paralegal certification) along with a real undergraduate degree has sufficed for quite a while in some markets. At least a while back, many DC area firms just wanted smart undergraduates who had graduated from good colleges as paralegals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
No one said than an MLS/MSL program is for people with a JD. It's explicitly NOT for someone with a JD, but it is a post-bachelor's program for non-lawyers who want a better understanding of the law and ability to interact with lawyers and the legal system as a non-lawyer.
My caution was about calling it a "Master of Law" degree, because it's not an LL.M. although I recognize that most laypeople don't really know what a LL.M. actually is.
emm74's clarification is correct. Per my comment up thread, these programs are more so aimed at those working in or planning to work in industry, not a law firm. With credential inflation across the board, it could serve as an additional feather in the cap and to get past the HR recruiting gatekeepers, especially for jobs where a JD is "preferred" but no actual law experience nor is passing the bar required, and that is frequent in financial compliance for mid and senior level roles. The value is as debatable as an MBA from a mid-level school and probably best suited for those that receive tuition reimbursement from their employer although that benefit is not as generous as it once was.
As an aside, a while back I worked in compliance for a major financial firm and we had a few candidates with JDs who didn't have much in the way of other relevant work experience that were literally begging for low-level compliance roles. They were always passed over primarily out of concern that once they have a bit of experience under their belt they would quickly leave for a more lucrative opportunity because they have a JD. However, if it's as bleak as some make it out to be then that thinking might not have been correct. Catch-22 for the many middling law grads - it can be a liability to get a non-law job as candidates can be viewed as overqualified, but they need to get a job somewhere and a low-level corporate job with full benefits is probably more desirable than temp document review. But a JD isn't needed for low-level corporate jobs...
emm74's clarification is correct. Per my comment up thread, these programs are more so aimed at those working in or planning to work in industry, not a law firm. With credential inflation across the board, it could serve as an additional feather in the cap and to get past the HR recruiting gatekeepers, especially for jobs where a JD is "preferred" but no actual law experience nor is passing the bar required, and that is frequent in financial compliance. The value is as debatable as an MBA from a mid-level school and probably best suited for those that receive tuition reimbursement from their employer although that benefit is not as generous as it once was.
As an aside, a while back I worked in compliance for a major financial firm and we had a few candidates with JDs that were literally begging for low-level compliance roles. They were always passed over primarily out of concern that once they have a bit of experience under their belt they would quickly leave for a more lucrative opportunity because they have a JD. However, if it's as bleak as some make it out to be then that thinking might not have been correct. Catch-22 for the many middling law grads - it can be a liability to get a non-law job as candidates can be viewed as overqualified, but they need to get a job somewhere and a low-level corporate job with full benefits is probably more desirable than temp document review. But a JD isn't needed for low-level corporate jobs...
I used to work as a compliance officer and regulatory manager in a bank - I was in the general counsel's office, but worked closely with the compliance department and just about everyone in the compliance department had a JD. It wasn't mandatory but it was considered helpful.
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