Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 20:49     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Coming from a family of investment bankers and a lot of friends who are corporate lawyers, I would go with IB hands down.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 20:12     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:DC is considering these career paths, and ROI. Currently a sophomore at a great undergraduate business program, but thinking long term post graduation and graduate degree strategies. Thoughts.


What internships have they secured? Its easier to become a big law attorney, at least as an associate, than to get into iBanking unless they have a connection.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 18:53     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don’t go into law for any reason other than being really interested in law


This is wrong.

So many great lawyers just ended up there because their philosophy degree or their english lit degree wasn't paying the bills.

This is a good reason to go finance because you can't just fall into finance, you can fall into law.



Brilliantly accurate statement for so many...
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 18:48     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC is considering these career paths, and ROI. Currently a sophomore at a great undergraduate business program, but thinking long term post graduation and graduate degree strategies. Thoughts.


I am a corporate lawyer and I want my kids to be in finance. A good corporate law career does not allow you to retire in your 40s to a comfortable retirement with enough assets to produce high passive income. A good high end finance career can.


I'm a real estate lawyer and I agree with this too. I serve on nonprofit boards with ex private equity folks who are in their 40s and retired (after multi-million payouts on carried interest plans) and serve on nonprofit boards just for fun.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 18:43     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:Don’t go into law for any reason other than being really interested in law


This is wrong.

So many great lawyers just ended up there because their philosophy degree or their english lit degree wasn't paying the bills.

This is a good reason to go finance because you can't just fall into finance, you can fall into law.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 18:42     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:DC is considering these career paths, and ROI. Currently a sophomore at a great undergraduate business program, but thinking long term post graduation and graduate degree strategies. Thoughts.


I am a corporate lawyer and I want my kids to be in finance. A good corporate law career does not allow you to retire in your 40s to a comfortable retirement with enough assets to produce high passive income. A good high end finance career can.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 17:32     Subject: Re:Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Guys there are tons of small / middle market investment banks out there founded by 1 or 2 people that left a bigger shop and focus on $10-$50m deals that the big banks wouldn’t waste their time on. And you do not have to come from a top business school to find these but you do have to hustle. Once you’re “in” you can lateral to a bigger bank if desired and exit to PE.

I used to work in M&A and bankers/PE guys make 100x what the highest paid lawyers do. I often created the transaction fees / funds flow memo, and let me tell you- on a $10b deal, the sellside bankers walked away with well over $100m in fees, while the law firm had less than $5m. And I think it was closer to $2m


The highest paid corporate lawyers are making $30 million per year. Are you saying the highest paid investment bankers are making $3 billion per year?


And what percentage of lawyers are "the highest paid corp lawyers"? And what percentage of lawyers are corp lawyers? And what percentage of lawyers even work in big firms?

You might as well be talking about Hollywood movie stars.


Irrelevant to the statement I responded to.


So?
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 17:27     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP. Study the humanities and learn to think critically and write. Then go to business or law school. Undergrad business degrees are just a good way to waste the 4 years of your life when you had access to all sorts of learning and basically came away with knowledge of boring subjects that will be replaced by software or AI anyway.


Not everyone wants to go get a MBA for grad school because they studied poetry for undergrad and then couldn’t get a job.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:53     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don’t go into law for any reason other than being really interested in law






+1000


Corporate law does not really deal with much law. A basic understanding of contracts, some securities. But a traditional corporate lawyer who does M&A is much more like a project manager. I guess you have to be able to read and implement merger statutes, but a clown could do it.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:42     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Agree with PP. Study the humanities and learn to think critically and write. Then go to business or law school. Undergrad business degrees are just a good way to waste the 4 years of your life when you had access to all sorts of learning and basically came away with knowledge of boring subjects that will be replaced by software or AI anyway.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:39     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC is considering these career paths, and ROI. Currently a sophomore at a great undergraduate business program, but thinking long term post graduation and graduate degree strategies. Thoughts.


Undergrad business is such a sham. Only Penn has one I think of the Ivies. Most are too watered down to give any real strategy or economic training.


Cornell University has an undergraduate business school.

Undergraduate business is not "a sham". MIT, U Michigan, Penn-Wharton, Cornell-Dyson, Georgetown, NYU-Stern, USC, Virginia-McIntyre, Notre Dame, WashUStL, Penn State, Michigan State, Indiana-Kelley, and a few dozen more are excellent undergraduate business programs.

If you think that undergrad business majors are a sham, what do you think of undergraduate majors in the humanities ?
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:35     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:Don’t go into law for any reason other than being really interested in law






+1000
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:32     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:I am married to a corporate law partner and other than the high income, his job totally sucks. He always has some deal closing, clients are SO demanding, and the end of the year is the worst as people always want their deal done by the EOY.


Do you appreciate what you have ?

You need to get out more. I think that you would be surprised at how hard folks work for far less than a first year Biglaw attorney earns.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:19     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:Not lawyer. Finance is much more lucrative overall.


True, although law firm associates pay and bonuses are through the roof these days - even at entry level.
Anonymous
Post 01/05/2026 16:17     Subject: Investment banker vs corporate lawyer
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC is considering these career paths, and ROI. Currently a sophomore at a great undergraduate business program, but thinking long term post graduation and graduate degree strategies. Thoughts.


Undergrad business is such a sham. Only Penn has one I think of the Ivies. Most are too watered down to give any real strategy or economic



Say that to the 1000 of employers, including EB and BB, who hire these watered down students and why its such a popular major these days.