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JD/CPA here. I’m a slave to my student debt. If I were to do it again, I’d go to a school that gave me a full ride, rather than the best school and take out loans
I would think public accounting would be the better rate considering where you are in your career. Personally, I would have a tough time dropping work and going back to school for 4 years.
Nobody can know for sure how your career will turn out on each path, but odds would probably be against it being a good financial decision. 3years opportunity cost + tuition (assuming you don’t get scholarships) is huge. Best case you make ~215k in biglaw after law school but you’d have to work in biglaw quite a few years to break even on the lost income and tuition (lawyers unlike accountants are more likely to take a pay cut to go in house).
All of this isn’t to say you can’t do it if you really want to be a lawyer, but make sure that’s why you’re doing it and not for the money.
As a CPA married to an attorney who went to T14, I do not recommend it unless for some reason you are extremely passionate about becoming a lawyer.
EY4: 3 year commitment foregoing pay, big student loans, oversaturated job market, pay isn’t as great as you think for majority of attorneys, much worse hours than Big 4 and fighting other attorneys and clients and it really wears on you quick. The average attorney lasts only 2 years in traditional practice before switching careers if I remember right. I could go on…
SC1: no, not worth it. I’d say law school is only worth it if you are okay with what I wrote above, you get into a T14 school in at least the top half of your class rank, and you’re committed to practice of law.
As someone that went to law school, don’t.
Would you be going back because you WANT to practice law or you just don't like what you are doing in accounting? I am doubtful you would make much more money as an attorney than you could as an accountant unless you become a Rockstar (likely plaintiff) attorney. If you just don't like the accounting you are doing, you could try to switch advisory to try something else but still be in the realm of accounting so your experience still has value. I know GT gutted their disputes practice a couple years ago, but switching to disputes/expert work could give you that exposure to the legal system while taking advantage of a lot of your experience.
If youre an M making 125 I'm wagering you're prob not in one of the advisory services. If you're asking if it's worth, Id say it's worth to try moving into another service line first, that'll get bang for zero buck. If you go to law school your income drops to zero, you pay tuition and you probably start over as a new associate. In 3 years you can be making as much as you would on the other side of law school, and you didn't have to pay tuition/miss wages on the way.
almost always a pay cut going from BL to in house
What’s your goal? Are you interested in practicing law? If it’s just about money, you need to do more research. I also think if you’re one of these folks building a financial model to see which one pays off in the long run- stick with what you’re doing or consider an MBA.
Thanks everyone! It sounds like law school may not be the best idea for me at this point. I would be losing 3 years of income and taking on law school debt. Even if I started with a higher salary going into 2026 then I would staying in audit, my net worth would be a lot lower.
Also, I'm not in advisory but that's something I've been thinking about as well assuming I could make a lateral move within GT.
Just read "inside the law school scam" blog. It will pretty much deter you from law school. Just switch into FDD or something advisory, far better than being roped into law school. I see people getting an MSL from NYU, which is comical to me. Once the tax law changes, that MSL like all the MST is pretty useless.
Having your JD will be something you will have for your life and is an achievement that cannot be taken away. Practicing law is different, so going the next step to pass the bar is a separate question. There could other opportunities that might arise with your current professional background plus your JD.
I also know someone who went to law school and started practicing land use and real estate law, they transitioned to working with one of the top agents that would feed them closing work and is now a real estate agent making more than they were as a lawyer in that field. Education/licensing requirements to be a real estate agent are vastly different than a practicing lawyer.
Why is $125k not enough for you? Think hard about why you are chasing more career instead of developing other areas of your life.
I am so tired of posts like this. Read the newspaper. Record high inflation, years of minimal increases in employee raises. 125 is not enough to live comfortably middle class with children in most major metro areas in the US.