Law School after CFA... crazy much? studying, everyone, actually, recently, believe

sgupta0827

One of my friends is considering going to law school, actually I heard him mentioning law school since he was doing his undergrad and I just thought, “everyone considered being a lawyer at some point in their life”, and never heard much about it until he recently finished the CFA program.
I was thinking HE MUST BE CRAZY because I do believe there’s such thing as being over-edcuated. And usually people who are “professional students” and they just use studying as an excuse to avoid facing the real world.
UNTIL I have another friend who’s an intern/ apprentice at a law firm that specializes in IPOs (or at least her team is). She has a biology background and has absolutely NO BACKGROUND in finance or accounting whatsoever. She frequently asks me questions about her job, and she told me how much she appreciates if people in her firm have more of the business background because they would be able to converse better with the auditors, etc.
So perhaps my friend who’s going to law school after CFA isn’t too crazy afterall? If he wants to do IPO or IP…. thoughts???

Iginla2010

Guy who’s been at a big firm for 6 years says he’s not a tool, news at 11.

mik82

I’m a capital markets attorney and have been for 6 years at a large law firm.  I’m doing the exams solely to gain some understanding of finance (liberal arts background), though hopefully that won’t magically turn me into a tool as poster above suggests (I’ll take the high compensation).   Not sure law school after CFA is any crazier than law school without CFA, I think the two actually work together better than a lot of other combinations.  I can only speak from personal experience, but the exams so far have really helped me on deals if only because I can at least fully understand and discuss most of the issues, not just the legal ones.

pennyless

Totally agree, you need to floow your own path. Do what makes you happy.
I qualified in Law but didn’t like it and then went into finance and next year I should complete the triple crown.
As for being over qualified, I’m not sure I agree, if you enjoy doing it and it progresses you knowledge I see no problem. Granted it could be difficult to get a junior role if you have a law degree, CFA, FRM, CAIA, and more, but then you’re not obliged to put all that on your CV. After all it only a problem if your CV is lying when you say you have the CFA, not when your dirty secret is that you’re hiding a PHD in Finance

d2rockstar

Attorneys who actually know finance are far and away the biggest tools I know, and I know several of them.  They’re also among the most highly compensated people I know.

joehogue

I have a JD and I’m working towards the CFA.
I wasn’t out to grab credentials, but I didn’t like law school and I don’t want to be a lawyer.

SkipE99

Oh Yeah DOW….what you know and who you know and your record of accomplishment and opportunities that present themselves means nothing.  You are handed a “winner” or “loser” badge at the start of life and all else is irrelevant.  Outside of interjecting your life philosophy not sure this rule of thumb displays a dangrous heuristic blind spot that adds little value to the basic topic originally raised!

Analyze_This

I guess i just want to know who else in this forum has both a JD and CFA, that’s all.
Perhaps they can share about the work they do?

chunty

Here is a good rule of thumb:
Credentials are the details, the grease on the wheels. Losers will always be losers, no matter how many credentials they have. Winners will always be winners, whether they are credentialed or not. The mistake is ascribing the causation chain to be “credentials –> winner” instead of “winner –>credentials.”
All the talk on these forums about, do this, don’t do this, this is a waste of time, etc., is all bullsh!t propagated by jealous people with no practical experience in what they are talking about. If you, or your friend, or your friend’s friend, wants to get XYZ credential/degree because they have done the local assessment and feel that that is what is required to excel in that specialized niche, who is anyone else to say that it is a terrible idea?

ayodayo

160K starting salary at the top firms.