So, I have been heavily considering attending law school but I am extremely hesitant about doing so. I have heard that the job market is not looking to good for future lawyers, but I think that I have a pretty solid plan and that a law degree will give me some serious edge.
I am currently an accounting major and I am definitely going to graduate school. Specifically, I am going to graduate school for forensic accounting. I feel like a master’s of forensic accounting coupled with a law degree specializing in financial law will give me a serious boost in finding a job.
Also worthy of mention: I will not have any loans after undergrad, and barely any loans after grad school. HOWEVER, I have noticed that EVERY law school is like a bajillion dollars to attend… I even looked at the University at Buffalo’s law school and it’s something around 27,000 a year to attend…
So… Is it worth it? I feel like I would get some serious consideration from future employers, but there are some obvious cons.
- MONEYYY
- I would not be done with college until I am 28
- I would be living on a college student's budget until that age as well
Would I be set with just my bachelor’s and master’s? I definitely plan on taking the CPA exam. It just sounds so good though; a CPA with a law degree. Hmmm
@SUNYJMM: When you say you “feel like a master’s of forensic accounting coupled with a law degree specializing in financial law will give me a serious boost in finding a job,” is that based on anything substantive or are you just guessing? Because that hasn’t been my experience of the legal job market at all. Corporate employers like accounting undergrads (but they prefer work experience), but I haven’t heard of any employment bumps for additional degrees in forensic accounting.
I also do not see in your post words to the effect of “when I interned at a law office…” That concerns me. A lot of people have an idea of what the practice of law is like and the actual practice is nothing like that idea. Those people end up very unhappy. If you haven’t spent a fair bit of time actually working at a law office, now is the time to do so.
I beg of you, try your absolute best not to take any loans out. What may see like a small amount can quickly balloon to a disaster if you don’t start paying it off immediately. As you said the employment prospects for your field aren’t to bright at the moment, you cannot guarantee anything. Correct me if I’m wrong, but a starting level attorney makes from 40 to 60k a year, and it can take from 8-12 years to achieve a six figure salary, and by then, the loans may be monstrous. Please find another avenue.
Dual degrees (“law and something else”) usually don’t help get jobs with law firms right out of law school. An accounting degree might be helpful in some contexts, but not really. As a corporate lawyer, I call the experts for anything accounting-related: the accountants themselves, not co-worker lawyers who may have accounting experience in the past.
Be a lawyer OR a forensic accountant.
Thanks for your inputs!
@Demosthenes49 , I was assuming that both a master’s in forensic accounting and a law degree specializing in financial law would open many doors for me, but maybe not. I thought the combination of both degrees would really prepare me for an upper level position in an accounting firm. Specializing in forensic accounting is basically like being an “accounting detective” (made that up!); I thought that having a law degree with a concentration in financial law would really compliment a forensic accounting degree, but I could be totally wrong though.
@HappyAlumnus , like I just mentioned above, I am looking to work at an accounting firm (I should have said that in my first post; sorry!!) I thought that having a law degree would possibly help me advance in my future career as a forensic accountant (at least more quickly). I am sure a master’s program in forensic accounting will give me enough knowledge about GAAP as well as a bachelor’s in accounting. I just thought a law degree with a concentration in financial law would give me some leverage over other accountants.
@BoyAtWilliams , I am really afraid of debt:( That is why I decided to commute to my college so that I can graduate debt free! However, I am really struggling with weighing the benefits and costs with a law degree. Will it give me a boost? Will it be worth the debt? Idk:/
@SUNYJMM: There are no concentrations in law school. Everyone comes out a badly-trained generalist. A legal degree absolutely would not help if your goal is to be a forensic accountant. You don’t have to guess about this stuff. Go look up people doing the job you want to do and see what their backgrounds are. Email a few and ask for advice. Most would be happy to give it.
@SUNYJMM, unfortunately a JD would be even a more useless “add-on” degree for an accountant than an accounting degree would be for a lawyer.
I’ve worked in financial institutions that hired accountants. They’d call the legal department for legal advice. The legal advice that lawyers give to accountants comes from actual law practice not what you learn in law school (which is pretty useless after graduation).
I see… Okay! I am glad that I asked because I was really just taking a shot in the dark here. Just one thing though… @Demosthenes49 , I found this program at Boston University:
https://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/llm/banking/
@HappyAlumnus , not sure if you were aware of this program either? I haven’t thoroughly read about the program; I’m the type to see something and get all excited about it first, then do some research lol.
I thought maybe this degree would beneficial in some ways, but that is why I am trying to weigh the costs and the benefits. Maybe I should just stick to grad school and passing the CPA and ending my educational journey there.
I see what my mistake was here… I was looking at an LL.M program which is an advanced degree in law. You need aa JD first… Too much school it seems like; that means I’d have another 4 years after my master’s in forensic accounting
To echo some others:
Don’t go to law school unless you want to be a lawyer. The time and expense aren’t justified if you feel that it might be helpful to have a law degree - unless the firm in which you’re working tells you so (and would accommodate you financially and time-wise to attend law school).
That LLM would serve no purpose whatsoever.