<p>do investment firms such as goldman have law divisions as well? I would like to work within a high end banking firm but im still set on being a lawyer. is ivy league prestige a prerequisite for working for one of these firms. Or is a law degree and good work ethic and ingenuity qualification enough for entry into this type of profession</p>
<p>My impression is that positions at these places are not usually open to people fresh out of law school. Generally, they require that you have a few years of experience at a big law firm. I also get the impression that your best chances at lateraling into such positions are from firms who have those corporations as clients.</p>
<p>Most corporate law departments are made up of lawyers selected from law firms (there are some exceptions but they vary by complexity of the tasks performed). If you want to work in a corporate law dept, you should try to develop a lot of experience in a law firm providing services to corporations. The reason corporations hire in-house lawyers is to reduce costs. It is usually cheaper to hire your own lawyer than to pay the hourly rate to an outside law firm for a lawyer who provides exclusive services to the corporation.</p>
<p>At Goldman Sachs, attorneys are typically hired to work in three areas: (1) investment banking (though not to practice law), (2) law department and (3) special execution (or “special ex”). Occasionally, an attorney right out of law school might be extended a job offer to become an investment banker. I have never heard of an instance where an inexperienced attorney has been asked to join either the law department or special ex, though I suppose it is possible.</p>
<p>Most attorneys who are asked to join law departments at large investment banks have significant work experience already on their resumes, typically at BIGLAW firms in the city where the investment bank is located.</p>