Utility outside of Law

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>I was reading the a thread in the parents forum about law school, and many mentioned that their law school education has helped them even in positions outside of law. I have seen this posted in other threads there as well. So, I am wondering what sorts of things do you learn while getting your law degree that make them so useful outside of law?</p>

2

<p>You learn about the law, which has some applicability throughout the business world. In addition, a degree from a top law school can give you credibility just because it is selective/prestigious/whatever. Some lawyers go into venture capital, finance, management consulting, entrepreneurship, etc.</p>

<p>That doesn’t mean you should go to law school planning not to practice law.</p>

3

<p>My advice: Do not go to law school unless you want to become a lawyer, unless your current eployer wants you to receive legal training for career advancement. While law school will teach you some things that are useful outside the legal field, these are not sufficient to justify the time and expense of law school. If you need some legal knowledge for business purposes, take a class in business law at a community college or other school.</p>

4

<p>I am not trying to suggest I want to go to Law school for reasons other than a career in law, or at all. I am wondering what you learn in law, and how it’s useful to areas outside of law and for reasons other than understanding law.</p>

5

<p>Here are benefits of getting a law degree outside of the practice of law:

  1. Credential (from a top law school such as HYSCC).
  2. Analytical skills (can be applied in private equity, consulting, etc.).
  3. Reading skills (can be applied in any career).
  4. Writing skills (can be applied in any career).
  5. Quick thinking skills (honed through the Socratic method, can be applied to trading).</p>

<p>Whether law school is worth the costs depends on how you apply your skills.</p>

6

<p>I don’t think you learn anything in law school that you don’t learn in a rigorous undergrad program when it comes to reading, writing, analytical skills, etc. Law school doesn’t teach you how to practice law. It certainly doesn’t teach you how to do anything else.</p>

7

<p>It is certainly true that a background in law can help you in obtaining and working in non-legal positions; however, in my experience, it is not the legal education itself but rather the experience of having worked as an attorney that provides those benefits. </p>

<p>In other words, don’t go to law school unless you want to practice law. Later, having practiced law, your law school education combined with your legal practice experience may open doors for you that lead to non-legal opportunities that are both surprising and tempting. However, you cannot count on when and if these non-legal opportunities may appear. Much will depend upon the industries that you serve as an attorney, your skills and a bit of luck, being in the right place at the right time.</p>

<p>The skills you learn as an attorney are both substantive (expertise in one or more areas such as taxation, private equity, procurement, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, etc.) and procedural/operational (spotting potential issues before they become problems, choosing between alternative paths and coming up with alternatives, risk management, etc.). These skills can prove invaluable to many organizations. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, however, I hear repeatedly from businesses that lawyers are too stiff and too risk averse. So, having worked as an attorney can also be a negative for someone who is working as an attorney solely in order to eventually move into an alternative career.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Items 2-4 is what undergrad the ‘liberal arts’ in college is all about. One can learn those same items in the English department, engineering, biology…while the JD may strengthen those skills, they are not a benefit per se.</p>