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Anonymous User
What’s FDD like at Bain, BCG, or McKinsey?
Bowl Leader
😱 Why does he have a pizza box on his head?
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Subject Expert
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Subject Expert
Why even go to law school?
I like that it’s a licensed profession that opens up doors to policy/regulation later on in life. But mainly because consulting feels like I have no real hard skills
Subject Expert
If you’re working at McKinsey (which means you have to have pretty good credentials so far) and assuming your grades at Fordham are solid, you’ll be competitive. That said, you don’t necessarily need to go to law school to get into policy and regulation.
OP: there are studies on the career paths of c suite execs. Look at them rather than asking here. You will get better information.
From what I recall, the types of companies run by people with a legal background tend to be in regulation heavy industries, like insurance and financial services, rather than something more marketing/sales driven, like CPG or operations focused (like manufacturing).
If Georgetown law night school is an option, probably better big law chances than fordham, even for nyc
Yeah there's no magic sauce. Yes, Fordham has good recruiting due to alum and location. That's built in and explains why the school overperforms relative to its rank.
Anecdotally, when I was applying Fordham grads told me that you need to be top 25% to ensure biglaw (likely bc of DEI spots). Far cry from the T14 I went to where it was the expected outcome.
Mentor
The honest answer is that a minuscule number of part time students get BigLaw. Generally only (1) the people with really top grades (which is always hard to do and far from guaranteed, especially if you’re working - I don’t know how the hell you can do it to be honest, especially if you’re working an intense job like MBB) and/or (2) people in DC who are regulatory specialists (think working at FDA or wherever) and go to Georgetown/GW and then start practicing in that area.
@AA1 and L1: I only partially agree with what you’re saying about in-house. I went in-house right out of law school. I think if you’re not careful, you can get stuck doing junior-level work forever, and that can seem dead—end. But you can also move up in the in-house world by picking up different skills, managing support staff or junior attorneys, or changing companies. Working for startups has expanded my skillset immensely. But yeah, it was all learned on the job, and most in-house departments do not provide much training. So you should know what you’re getting into and how hard it can be to climb the ladder in a legal department.
1. Get an MBA, not a JD. A JD is starting fresh in a new industry and is not the standard path to C suite. Going to law school when you already have a high paying professional career is really dumb.
2. If you decide to ignore 1 because you just want to be a lawyer and are just debt averse, focus on the LSAT and get a scholarship. There's no point in advancement in consulting because like I said, you'd be starting fresh as entry level anyway.
Enthusiast
@A4,
I concur.
@OP,
I think if you really don’t want the MBA, I would aim for the best school you can get into. If you can get into NYU or Columbia, go there. But if not, given your age, Northwestern would be a great option. It’s a top law school, that has a more mature student body, in a vibrant city, with great market paying Biglaw outcomes. You can easily get back to NYC from Northwestern and they like experienced candidates.
What’s your role at mck?
OP, if you’re the same McKinsey person that posts periodically about potentially going to law school, it seems like it’s on your heart to go. If this is something that you really want to do, do it. Life is too short. Yeah big law sucks, if you want to do this, do it!
1) Not a competitive candidate for BigLaw unless top of your class, law review, etc. from Fordham generally. And even then, only in NYC. If you are interested in any other market, go to law school in that market. Some exceptions for T14 schools and markets other than CA (where you need to show a real connection to CA no matter if you went to H/Y).
2) Your earning potential if you do make it to BigLaw tops out at like $500k unless you make partner. Most people do not make partner (and when they do, it’s after 10+ years and the workload only increases). You will be working 80-100 hour weeks for this money. Your social and romantic life will take a back seat. Say goodbye to hobbies. There are easier and better ways to make a lot of money.
3) For regulatory work down the line, you want to go to school in DC and work in DC. You simply will not get as good training in NYC.
Enthusiast
@OP
Georgetown Law offers you the opportunity for NYC Biglaw positions that pay market rates. To achieve market pay, you only need to be at the median at Georgetown Law, or even below median if you possess either great networking skills or relevant experience, both of which you have. So, for you, it’s GULC or bust for part-time programs.
If you are willing to go full time, I would recommend any of the other t13 schools. I would definitely not recommend Fordham for part time or full time, given you current position. You would need to aim for being top third to guarantee Biglaw, and it may not even be a market paying firm.