Thoughts on getting MBA to help you lateral out of big law and possibly something more management side or maybe a mix of law and management?

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Not going to be worth it IMO. Maybe it would help, but the absurd cost of education these days really shifts the equation in favor of trying to network your way into the desired role versus spending two years and $200k on an MBA (to say nothing of the fact that business schools and post-MBA employers aren’t necessarily going to look on big law experience that favorably).

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A1: a few reasons. First, as OP points out, there is an often correct stigma that lawyers lack general business sense and are too risk and numbers averse. Second, most associates have little to no management experience in the way that business-side individuals do (no direct reports, at most bossing around a junior or paralegal for part of your time). Third, and maybe most importantly, after 3 years of law school and maybe 2-3 years of junior associate work, biglaw associates for the most part still haven’t gotten any real hands on business experience. I’m not talking about just generalized “business sense,” but work history that is directly applicable to what employers are looking for in MBAs. This is especially true for litigators, but also for the most part transactional attorneys in the early stages of their careers. Schools care a lot about employability, and while I do think it’s overstated to say that biglaw doesn’t give people any transferable skills (attention to detail, work ethic, writing skills, etc. are all underratedly important), the reality is it pales in comparison to someone who actually spent 3-6 years doing business work.

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