Legal professionals (LLB degree holders) after working for a few years, often wonder if pursuing an MBA would be a good career choice for them. So before I get down to answering if a MBA is a good option for legal professionals, let me put into perceptive some scenarios where a MBA could add value to a legal professional’s career.
The MBA can help you leverage on your legal expertise in the following cases
- You intend to transition to more corporate strategy and decision making roles rather than remaining a subject matter expert
- You plan to venture into general HR roles (personnel management)
- Plan to get into Mergers and Acquisitions
- Start your own law firm or a related venture
- Advance to a managerial or business development role in a Law Firm
- You completely plan to make a career switch – You are no longer interested in anything ‘Legal’ 🙂
If you fit into any of the above scenarios, then pursuing a MBA would make sense. The MBA would also present opportunities for personal development and diversify your professional network. If you have had a successful career of around 3-5 years in the law, and now plan to pursue an MBA, make sure you select the MBA program carefully. When it comes to a MBA, a lot matters ‘where’ you do it from. So choose your MBA wisely.
In 2005 Jay Rege, along with his wife Jothsna Rege, co-founded Academy One, a career guidance and study abroad counseling venture. Prior to co-founding Academy One, he worked as a software developer with HCL Technologies. He holds a computer engineering degree from Mumbai University and a MBA from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, USA. He has also been a visiting faculty at a few colleges where he teaches topics related to entrepreneurship.