Is law unemployment over exaggerated?

[sakky]

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Quote:
Originally Posted by sakky
For many years, and may still be true today, the single most prolific recruiter at HLS was not any law firm, NGO, or government agency, but rather was McKinsey.

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Where in the world did you get this idea from? That’s not even close to true.

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<p>It isn’t?</p>

<p>From an older (and archived) version of Wikipedia:</p>

<p>*They are also the largest recruiter at Harvard Law School *</p>

<p>[Chemistry</a> - McKinsey & Company](<a href=“http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/McKinsey#Recruiting]Chemistry”>http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/McKinsey#Recruiting)</p>

<p>Such a pathway has been discussed rather heavily on other forums:</p>

<p>It seems McKinsey hires quite heavily from Harvard Law School…In fact, I’ve heard that hiring this year at HLS is not finished, and they’ve already made 11 offers to HLS students. This is probably higher than quite a few of the top 20 B schools. These are students who are choosing not to pick up a 145K base salary job in NYC which is guaranteed for virtually all HLS graduates. You don’t need any work experience to get into Harvard Law, and so you can become a McK Associate 3 years after UG.</p>

<p>[Getting</a> to McKinsey-Getting into B-School-BW Business Schools- BusinessWeek](<a href=“http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=bw-bschools&tid=70674]Getting”>http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=bw-bschools&tid=70674)</p>

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Though it’s probably a bad idea to have a backup plan that is harder to accomplish than your initial plan.

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<p>How so? I am convinced that, except during trying economic times, a Harvard Law grad can obtain some job in consulting or finance. It might not be at a McKinsey - indeed - it may be at a 2nd-tier firm. But they can get some job. After all, those firms hire Harvard graduates with PhD’s or even MA’s in subjects that have nothing to do with business. At least the law has something to do with business. If nothing else, at least you know something about contracts, torts, and corporate law. </p>

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Most companies don’t get very creative in their entry-level hiring. If you’re an outlier, which someone with either a JD or three-year resume gap will be, they’re more likely to be turned off than intrigued. An interview (if you get one) that consists mostly of you trying to explain why you went to law school if you didn’t want to be a lawyer, or why you didn’t get a legal job, is probably not going to result in an offer.

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<p>But we’re not talking about ‘most companies’. We’re talking specifically about the consulting and finance firms that swarm around the campuses of Harvard and other elite schools. These firms have proven time and time again that they’re perfectly willing to hire students from irrelevant topics. </p>

<p>For example, I could just as easily ask why would somebody be so foolish as to complete the arduous task of a PhD in physics from MIT if he didn’t actually wanted to be a physicist, but rather wanted to be a consultant. </p>

<p>And yet…</p>

<p>[Associate</a> Principal Consultant’s Profile | Bachelor’s Degree Rice University | Stamford | McKinsey Careers](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/sitecore/content/Global/Consultant/stephen_m.aspx]Associate”>http://www.mckinsey.com/sitecore/content/Global/Consultant/stephen_m.aspx)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/who_is_mckinsey/who_we_are/our_people/consultant/Seungheon%20S.aspx[/url]”>http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/who_is_mckinsey/who_we_are/our_people/consultant/Seungheon%20S.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Or, perhaps more egregiously, why the heck would somebody want to first complete a law degree at Columbia and then later decide to complete a medical degree at Columbia - hence not a combined MD/JD program, but two degrees completely separately…and then after all that, decide neither to work as a lawyer or a doctor, but rather as a consultant? What a flake, right?</p>

<p>And yet…</p>

<p>…I wondered if people would think, “Who is this guy? He doesn’t stick with anything very long…</p>

<p>[Associate</a> Principal Consultant’s Profile | Other Advanced Degrees Columbia University | New York | McKinsey Careers](<a href=“http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/who_is_mckinsey/who_we_are/our_people/consultant/Eric%20D.aspx]Associate”>http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/who_is_mckinsey/who_we_are/our_people/consultant/Eric%20D.aspx)</p>

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There may be a narrow exception if it’s a hot economy AND you go to a very prestigious law school AND the non-legal employer is recruiting on your campus. In that case, you do not have to worry about the stigma of being seen as flaky or a loser.

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<p>But that is exactly what I’m talking about. I’m talking specifically about the most prestigious universities - i.e. the Harvards, Yales, Stanfords of the world - where the most elite recruiters, including non-law recruiters, are present. I’ve always said that a law degree from a lower-tier school is not particularly valuable outside of the law.</p>