Why would anyone want to be a lawyer?

Corporate lawyers can make a ton, but there's just too many lawyers right now. There are a lot of lawyers that go into finance after a career in law. I know someone who went into VC from law.

Because they watch Suits and think it looks cool, and frankly it does.

Because they enjoy law more than finance? Or at least believe that they will? Questions like this really make you wonder.

Some people still place more prestige on doctor and lawyer than anything else

Some people actually like law...gasp

well, lots of financiers dont go through "rigorous and prestigious" law school and med school

You really think lawyers had the option of finance? Good lord, no. The ones who could have didn't consider it before it was too late. No one who researches the law path well goes into corporate law if they could have gotten into a front office role.

It may sound crazy but some people don't decide their futures based on how much money they could make. If you prefer law to finance, you should go into law, as good lawyers can make a very nice living.

because some people are interested in law more than finance?

i'm surprised by how many kids on these threads have like ZERO interest in finance.

I find law to be really interesting, I'm just more interested in finance. I grew up in a family of lawyers and was always exposed to it, so I always found it fascinating. If I wouldn't have chosen to pursue a career in finance, I would have been a lawyer.

You can pretty easily tell who is still in college and who never left college despite getting a full-time job by reading these responses. It's pretty hilarious.

One of the biggest impetuses is that you can attend the shittiest backwoods undergraduate in the world and still get accepted into a T14 law school. The same isn't really true with good FO positions imo.

C'mon man, not to be rude but this question is fucking stupid.

Most people in law school couldn't have gotten an FO role. Though there are a decent amount of people in law school who had FO/Consulting/etc roles and opted for law after not liking their time in those careers. And of those that could have had an FO job but went to law school instead most of them are interested in law for non-monetary reasons. For instance a buddy of mine turned down numerous top finance positions most of us would die for on this site because he wants to be in academia. So he went to Yale law school, is also doing his PhD, and will likely end up as a law professor.

What i don't understand is JD/MBAs? Why the hell do you want to rack up $350k in debt just to have the dual degree which basically serves no purpose other than buying you time in the decision of law vs. everything else? There's almost no justification for having both. Senior partners at top law firms don't really need the MBA - they can learn the business side as they progress through their careers. Similarly, bankers etc. don't need to know the law side because you know their just gonna hire Cravath anyways.

It may be a small advantage for expert witnesses (damages), but i literally can't think of a single other career path where it is justified.

I would group the people I know who've gone to law school in two buckets:

(1) I knew I wanted to be a lawyer since the day I started my undergraduate career.

(2) What the fuck am I doing with my life? What the fuck am I doing with my life? What the fuck am I doing with my life?

Watches 'Suits'

Law! Now to Facebook Status this life decision...

Because you like the study of law and the actual profession ? Money isn't the only driver here lmao...

Because they get the inside information first. They are the inside information.

Is it really that hard to believe that some people want to be lawyers? Some people want to be lawyers, some people want to be cops, and some want to be astronauts. It doesn't make them less of people and it doesn't make them weird. It means they have something they want to do and they do it.

I think its a shame to knock on lawyers or law school. Some of the sharpest bankers I've met are former lawyers. In my experience, lawyers really shine in product teams like structured/securitized products. I would assume they excel in areas like M&A and restructuring as well.

Prestige

the OP is obviously a fucking troll

JD/MBA ftw. I did a stint at a V5 for the summer. Hated it. Shooting for IB now. Went to grad school wanting IB, thought the JD would differentiate me. For me (given personal circumstances I won't go into) I think it was the right decision, but I don't think the dual degree is worth it for 90% of people, and it wouldn't have been for me either had I not made "wrong" decisions earlier in life.

Ask Lloyd Blankfein.

why would you want to go to law school.... to become a banker? if you would have known earlier, you would have been a banker or at least tried to network your way in during your undergrad years. but noooo, you were probably having too much fun with your kappa kappa kay buddies rather than focusing on practicing for your interviews or at least trying to land them.

if a person tells you they would rather do law than finance, they don't know finance or they are just trying to rationalize their decision... deep down inside, they know they dun fucked up. i know alum md's at bb's who went to law school and practiced law and all of them said they didn't like their law jobs and would have done finance from the start. fuck em, less competition for me. money over all niggas.

The posts in this thread make it seem like you have to practice law by getting a JD. The JD is a much more versatile degree than an MBA, and many companies often recognize it in place of an MBA. A lot of consultants, bankers, and non-lawyers have their JD and they're all the better for it.

Law school teaches you to think differently, and you don't have to go to law school just to be a lawyer. One person already pointed this out, but I'll repeat it: Lloyd Blankfein started as a lawyer. What you start in and whether you have a JD, MBA, or both, doesn't determine what you end up doing.

Doesn't M/B/B recruit JDs? Law school is quite rigorous (at least the top-20 law schools are rigorous) and "thinking like a lawyer" is always useful.

When you go in with honest intentions, law school and medical school isn't about ROI. I have friends who went to med school and law school for only the money/prestige and they're miserable right now.

ltohang:

When you have the option of finance, why would anyone choose to go to law school and waste money to go to law school for three years? You end up making same if not less than in finance

This is so stupid.

You go into law so that you can be the fucking president.

Discussion closed.

Retarded question. I bet the folks on PremedOasis (or whatever they have) are asking why anyone would want be in finance making pointless pitch books when you can make bank AND save lives as an MD.