xavier1 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > curious as to why the words IVY and BIGLAW were > capitalized? i am curios why are you curios :)? j/k
thought MAYBE it’s THE new NEW thing TO do AND didn’t WANT to MISS out.
On legal chatboards, IVY an BIGLAW are usually capitalized. I have no idea why it evolved like that but it did.
This was actually a very interesting thread, but I had to say the whole capitalization thing was really bothering me.
Good observation Xavier1. I like the aesthetics of a capitalized IVY and BIGLAW - very pleasing to the eye.
glamorstock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Does anyone have their JD/CFA? If yes, what do you > do? I’m taking LI in December and am waiting for > the books. I do. Just passed Level III. I work two hats at a hedge fund and am thinking very, very seriously of starting my own fund soon.
Many JDs can be found in investment banking. Transaction work involves a lot of legal issues and contract negotiation (especially M&A - which is where most of the JDs can be found). I would think a JD / CFA combo would be very compellling here, especially if you have transaction experience from the legal side. ER will be more challenging. I strugggle a bit to see how a JD would be applicable in this field. The CFA obvioulsy is quite useful, but the JD does not provide much leverage here (unless of course your legal expertise is focused on a particular sector, which provdes some depth of knowledge).
Jonathan Knee went the Stanford MBA + JD route… (as aspiring was mentioning Stanford above) - - his book is a fast read as well - Accidental Investment banker He did pretty well for himself… (resume) http://www1.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/1027/Knee_CV04.pdf
Gecco Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Many JDs can be found in investment banking. > Transaction work involves a lot of legal issues > and contract negotiation (especially M&A - which > is where most of the JDs can be found). I would > think a JD / CFA combo would be very compellling > here, especially if you have transaction > experience from the legal side. ER will be more > challenging. I strugggle a bit to see how a JD > would be applicable in this field. The CFA > obvioulsy is quite useful, but the JD does not > provide much leverage here (unless of course your > legal expertise is focused on a particular sector, > which provdes some depth of knowledge). I agree with Gecco here. I think it is most relevant in the transaction process because there are lots of legal documents to comb through at every step of the way, and the deal process itself is pretty repetitive from deal to deal. A fair number of the transaction and origination partners here have JD’s. I also agree with Gecco in that in other cases, the JD/finance connection seems more applicable than it really is. I think it does help with respect to the healthcare space, particularly in devices and pharma because of all the IP litigation. However, most of the time, sell-side analysts have lawyers with whom they consult, and these lawyers have years of experience in a particular field that they live and breathe every day. I’m sure having a legal background can help you get through the documents much more easily, but there’s only so much time during the day and usually it makes more sense just to source the legal analysis to a legal team, who is not only more dedicated to that stuff but also has experience that is much more relevant and current. Your job in equity research will be much more on the finance side than the legal side, even if you think you have a legal background that can be “leveraged.”
Numi, I enjoy reading your posts. I have an AB/MS in biology and a JD (all from excellent universities). I also plan on finishing the CFA exams over the next two years (I still have levels 2 and 3 to go) while I am getting legal experience. I will be practicing patent law (working with pharma/biotech companies). Do you think that I would be competitive for an ER Associate position in a pharma group? What else can I do to help my chances?
aspiring - - have you thought of doing M&A I-Banking at Cowen? I have some friends at Cowen who like it there in the Healthcare sector . . . is pretty much the healthcare I-Bank
aspiringhealthcarebanker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Numi, > > I enjoy reading your posts. I have an AB/MS in > biology and a JD (all from excellent > universities). I also plan on finishing the CFA > exams over the next two years (I still have levels > 2 and 3 to go) while I am getting legal > experience. I will be practicing patent law > (working with pharma/biotech companies). Do you > think that I would be competitive for an ER > Associate position in a pharma group? What else > can I do to help my chances? I think you could be. I don’t know what else you can do to improve your chances, aside from getting experience with the finance side itself. Your experience sounds like it’s as on track as it’ll get based on the career that you’ve chosen. People with a Ph.D. or an M.D. would be more ideal, but there are more than enough people covering pharma that don’t have advanced degrees either. I think on your end of things, you can advance your experience by demonstrating your financial acumen not only through the CFA program, but with any involvement you may have on the securities or financial side. Try to get staffed on cases that may have some financial relevance. Also, as an aside, I notice your curiously frequent repetition of your credentials. For what it’s worth, while it may look good on paper, recognize that most of your colleagues will have similar credentials as well. Assuming you are aspiring to get into a good pharma group, everyone will have good qualifications. Once you get to the job, people are much less concerned about where you came from and more interested in how you answer the question of “what have you done for us lately?”
Projectplattnyc, I have thought about it. However, it does not look like I will be getting much transaction experience at the law firm I am joining so I may not be competitive for such a position (although I would love doing it). Numi, I was not sure if you read any of my pevious posts so I wanted to reiterate what are really my only selling points. I am well aware of how things are in the working world - finance is no different. But, I first need to get my foot in the door. This is dependent on me getting an interview, which will be strongly correlated to how good I look on paper.
Understood. I think you are doing all the right things to prove yourself, and the one last thing that I should have touched upon is making sure you connect with the right people. Your credentials are good enough to pass most people’s screening; you just have to make sure they’re being reviewed by the right people. Good luck and keep me posted on how things go.