PE to Law school?

So I know the standard path is 2 years banking--> 2 years pre-MBA PE--> MBA--> partner-track PE, but does anyone ever go to law school instead? It seems like coming from a strong finance background with the kind of connections you have from banking and PE an MBA would be almost a waste of time. Personally I'd think law school would be much more interesting/beneficial/well-rounding. It also seems like a number of PE partners (and bankers) either have law degrees or were lawyers previously. Has anyone seen this happen? Would doing a JD pigeon hole somebody into being thought of as a "lawyer" and make it hard to go back to finance?

 
Best Response

I speak only for myself when I say this but while working in PE/finance in general your perception of law/lawyers changes drastically. They are viewed simply as instruments or conduits to helping get a deal done but they are never really part of the action. Lawyers (and bankers for that matter) play a vital role in the due diligence process but at the end of the day it seems difficult to go from making deals to sitting in the back room drafting contracts and logging hours. A JD can be a valuable credential in PE but the 3 year hiatus makes it cost prohibitive (esp. if you have already been in the field).

Also, many people attend b-school as a sort of mini-vacation or self-edifying experience; law school is clearly neither of these things. The workload is substantial and the knowledge base is highly specialized.

 

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