<p>Is it at all a common path to pursue either an MA or a PhD before attending Law School? If one is willing to put in the time and fund it, would the combination not substantially increase one's job prospects? Specifically, I am considering pursuing an MA or PhD in International Relations before Law School. Would this be a waste of time?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it’s terribly common but I know people who have done it, or who have done it the other way around (JD first, and then PhD). I have a friend who got her JD and them came to my university for her PhD in history, with the explanation that she wanted to be a law professor and the market is so competitive that a PhD greatly increased her chances of becoming a professor.</p>
<p>I’d only take this route if you wanted to be a professor, though, or wanted to do some other job that required both the research expertise of a PhD and the legal expertise of a JD. Otherwise, usually just one is enough.</p>
<p>I’ve heard the combo can be effective if you’re going into patent law, but that’s a lot of work for doing a lot of (what most would feel) boring work.</p>