Brain-storming re management/strategic consulting
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Anonymous
| I am in biglaw and have an interest in considering a switch to management consulting; but I realize it is no bed of roses either and want to do my diligence. I spoke to a contact of mine who agreed to contact a friend at a large national consulting co; somehow I thought the guy he was contacting would be a peer (early 30s). Turns out he is in his early 50s and relatively high up. Obviously I need to make a great impression in case I apply to his company down the road. Anyone up for brainstorming the types of things I’d ask. I will obviously ask about the types of work he’s doing now; the skill sets that he finds useful. What else? I want to have a bunch of issues prepared in case it turns out the guy is not very talkative, in a rush etc. I have a feeling the tone will be different than if I was just talking to a peer of mine with a JD who make the switch. |
Anonymous
| One angle- What has made people from a legal background successful at MC? |
Anonymous
| I cant help directly with the JD angle, but will say this - if you are planning on making the switch, take a look at "Case In Point" on Amazon. Unless you come in specifically for your JD experience - you will likely face a case interview. Prepare. |
Anonymous
whenever you are doing informational interviewing have a clear statement of what you are looking to get out of the conversation.... I am looking to understand what it takes to be successful at your firm, what are the challenges you have seen over the years of people doing career changes from Law to Consulting, do you have any tips on how I should market myself to sell my law expereince to recruitors within consulting. A few things for you to seriously consider. Are you looking to leverage your law experience and bring it into consulting. For example, if you worked within Immigration you would be able to easily sell yourself to consulting as someone who understands the USCIS and could work within that space. OR are there things about biglaw that are not a good fit for you? If you are not looking to leverage your law expereience and start fresh, you may be taking a serious salary cut. |
Anonymous
OP here - helpful thanks. To answer the other PP, I am starting to prep for a case interview in case it gets to that point -- I don't want to be caught flat footed. For the above -- I think I fall somewhere in between. Basically I was a business/finance undergrad who went to law school, and now that I've spent some time in biglaw, I am realizing that I am still interested in the business side -- i.e. understanding the client's business, sources of revenue etc. -- the types of things most litigators do not care about because they don't go into a pleading. I do a lot of restructuring work, and I know restructuring can be an aspect of consulting (depending on the firm), so there may be some leveraging of my law background but also some starting over. I realize there will be a paycut which is why I want to do some diligence before deciding this is a good idea. I kind of feel like consulting gives you a much better skillset for the business world/other business jobs than litigation/biglaw (but I don't want to act like it is a bed of roses as the client service businesses all face similar pressures, I think). I am certainly not considering this to run away from the biglaw lifestyle. If anyone has any idea of how to combine biglaw with a business interest and a finance education in the DC area preferably, I would love to hear it. All I can think of is start a business or try to do a consulting stint to see where that takes me. |
Anonymous
|
OP again -- I do specifically have an interest in his company, can I ask something about his company's openness to hiring J.D.s into MBA positions? I know certain consulting firms say they welcome MDs, JDs, PhDs etc - not just MBAs - but I don't know where his firm stands or how honest the other firms are being. Basically I am trying to get an idea of what is realistically possible. When I talk to people at law school/undergrad career services, they say "sure it's possible" and hand me a list of 10 alums in consulting; I have no way of knowing whether than is 10 out of 500 who have tried to get in over the years or 10 out of 20.
Part of me thinks I don't go down those roads with this contact, and keep it to skillsets, type of work etc. |
Anonymous
|
You should look at Capital One. I have a bunch of ex JD friends there - don't know exactly what they do but it's clearly a refuge for some. There are also some boutique M&A consulting firms out there.
I wouldn't broach the topic as "Do you hire JDs as MBAs?" because it highlights the potential for a skills gap. I know you can't say but I'm assuming we're talking top tier firm; you don't need to negotiate against yourself - it's uphill already. If I we're you I'd leave that question alone: it is only asking "at what level can I come in?" I think the other poster had it framed up well - "Any guidance on how others have made the shift from law?". If his answer is "You start as a Sr. Associate rather than an engagement manager because" ..., you've got your answer. Finally ... I assume your life sucks at big law but keep in mind it'll be no better at a top tier firm (BCG/Bain/McK) or at most mid tier (Deloitte). Long hours, travel, shitty partners, crappy boring cities. Also I get the sense you are making it a bigger concern (the convo) than it should be. Treat it like any client interaction you had at big law and you'll be fine. Professional, curteous, thankful of the time, etc. Don't stress over it. Source: MBA + ex consultant |
Anonymous
| My father was a management consultant, specializing in manufacturing (yes, he's very old). The job involved bringing fresh perspective and common sense into an existing operation. You'll need to demonstrate how you can runs the trains faster and more efficiently. |