<p>What type of job could one procure with a J.D. from Harvard/Yale/Duke/G'Town/et al in the banking industry?</p>
<p>How much is the starting salary and what's the ceiling?</p>
<p>If you’re thinking of a using a J.D. to go into banking, you probably shouldn’t be thinking of getting a JD.</p>
<p>Never thought about it until I read it whilst perusing one of the threads on here.
Just curious.</p>
<p>there is a very small chance of breaking into banking right from the JD program. the more typical path is something like white-shoe wall-st law firm corporate M&A work for a few years, then lateral in through client connections.</p>
<p>that said, it has been and can be done right from school. the current CEO of goldman sachs was actually a HLS grad who broke into banking right from school (although rejected at goldman; he went to another bank). another example is the infamous jim cramer. but keep in mind, this is the exception not the rule. </p>
<p>you need to interview w/ banks in the spring after law firms in the fall, which usually requires some legwork to get extensions from law firms. they also prefer candidates with prior finance experience especially in this economy.</p>
<p>Why bother getting a JD and then pursue banking? Skip that step and go into banking right out of undergrad. From your other posts on CC, it looks like you’re just about to start college. I don’t know what college you plan on attending, but if it’s an Ivy league school or some other elite university/liberal arts college, then the banks will come to you come recruiting season (though banking jobs are hardly the low-hanging fruit they used to be before the financial bust). Many of my classmates went to work for investment banks after graduation. A JD would just be three years of lost income and high tuition if you didn’t actually want to pursue the law…</p>
<p>the reasons i could think of for the OP’s plan:</p>
<h1>1. attending a “non target” school. extremely tough to break in if this is the case</h1>
<h1>2. JD is a terminal degree. You are eligible for mba-level positions at the bank, especially with a couple years of work experience pre-JD.</h1>
<h1>3. no access to top MBA programs. perhaps work experience is not up to par or whatever. then a top mba is out of the question so JD becomes the best shot.</h1>
<p>that said, it is a very poor reason to go to law school, if it is ONLY to pursue banking. if you go in hoping to interview at banks but expecting a law firm, that is ok.</p>
<p>Aiight. Thanks for the replies. Very magnanimous of you guys.</p>
<p>It’s not my plan; was just being inquisitive.</p>