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Does anyone want to get a JD but not actually practice law/ be a lawyer? This isn't my story (I want to be a lawyer) but I am curious to learn about people who actually want a JD but don't intend to use it in the traditional sense. What the heck are you thinking?
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I get the chills just thinking about that first crease...
Wow, $150,000—$200,000 in debt for a degree that's "good to have" AND a paper airplane? Oh boy, I will have so much fun flying that thing around my palatial corner office once I've made my millions by the time I'm 30*.
*Statement in no way reflects reality for anyone involved in the real world except the likelihood of 30-year-mortgage-style debt and the fact that diploma-quality paper would likely have strong aerodynamic properties recommending it for projectile origami materials.
I hear the paper used for JD diplomas are the best for paper airplanes. I have a world record to beat!
I absolutely do want to practice law, but I don't see myself practicing law forever. If I were to start law school in the next year or two, I'd be 25 or 26 when I graduate. I might have an interest in continuing school later on in order to pursue a career as a professor.
With any investment, it's worth it if you get a good ROE (return on investment). In this case, it comprises the following: money and time (opportunity cost is factored into both). So if I go to law school and it costs me say $150,000 (including living costs and textbooks). In that time, perhaps I could have worked at $40,000/year for 3 years = $120,000 (but with equal living costs subtracted, making it say $60,000 net profit for 3 years. $150,000 + $60,000 = $210,000. So $210,000 is the difference between going to law school for 3 years vs working for 3 years. Keep in mind this is approximated and I've over-estimated for the most part. Canadian law schools don't cost this much.
Nonetheless, when you get out of law school, assuming you use your degree well, you start at roughly $100,000/year while going the other route would have gotten you one promotion to $50,000/year. Now as the years go by, you catch up and surpass that initial deficit. In addition, if you also use your law degree for non-traditional, business-oriented "side incomes" then you could make a lot more. Granted, you could do that without a law degree, but then again I'm only talking to people who want to go to law school anyway if they're on 7Sage.
PS. Sorry I'm only a nerd on weekdays. It's a weekday. Therefore...
I really am interested in entrepreneurship and that is where I want to go. I have seen many lawyers in my family use law to meet people that can make their entrepreneurial dreams happen from people with ideas to people with money. Plus, legal fees are one of the biggest hurdles new companies face and one legal slip-up can destroy your new venture. Getting a legal degree to not practice law isn't that crazy! For me it is about getting deeper into how the world works and I think that is invaluable education.
I heard some people branched into Management consulting (think McKinsey)
Working in CRE, I see this kind of path all the time. These guys do very well for themselves. And CRE law doesn't require a degree from a fancy school, PS (especially if you're in the family firm and also doing brokerage/dev). None of these guys went to top law schools.
@2543.hopkins Thanks for the tidbit. Love hearing success stories!
I know someone who took this identical career path. He comes from a CRE/development family and practiced RE law for a few years. Then just went into development full time. CRE is one of the "exceptions" to the traditional JD path because being an RE atty in brokerage/development can be extremely useful. You can play both roles very effectively, in tandem (and the CRE family thing is a big boon, but not necessary for anyone else who might be interested in this path). I have a client who has taken a similar path, and I believe his brother did the same (and both work for their family firm). Spoiler alert ... they're all very successful! Nice guys, too.
Depends, if I can make it into the development/management side of CRE, then I wouldn't actually practice law but we'll see.
Gone are the days when one should get a JD "because it's a good degree to have." Back when a lot of my mentors were in law school, tuition was a fraction of what it is now. Now, a JD is a good degree to have if and only if you have a calling to practice law (you want to be a lawyer for the foreseeable rest of your life) or if you have no financial restraints for one reason or another. Oddly enough, it's been a while since I heard anyone come out and say "I want a JD so that I can go and do X" where X is not the practice of law.
I have a full ride with the GI Bill and am planning to do a JD/MBA so if I end up in a JD advantage job or something it's really no big deal to me... I'll probably start off in law though just because it's hard to go back to it if you don't do it in the first place... If you have to pay for a law degree then I would recommend wanting to be a lawyer though...
Wait that last statement implies that you are thinking... Aargh