| Topic Name: |
From law to accounting - Possible??? |
| Message Name: |
JD to Big 5 |
| Date Posted: |
02/13/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
Some advice:
1. If you hate law school and you are graduating with that poor a GPA from a 2d tier school your only hope to making any $$ (short of straight commission based sales) is to take as many tax classes that you can, enroll in an independent paper class and write a paper on a tax issue and market yourself like crazy to the Big 5. Demonstrate an interest, come across as a halfway decent person and they will hire you.
2. Now the bad news. You will not make nearly the kind of $$$ that your classmates at BIGLAW firms will see during their first year. The Big 5 are not really great at integrating JDs into their tax consulting practices (with the exception of international tax -- hint -- focus here). And if you stay too long (i.e. more than 5 years) and do not get the straight consulting experience that is more akin to traditional tax law, you are going to be screwed. You will not be able to practice law bc you won't have true legal experience and as a non-cpa, you cannot be an accountant in-house.
3. On the upside, the hours are not too bad, the perks are pretty good and the clients are generally interesting.
4. In sum -- if you want a service based career -- it will be a great place for you to start and will open up a lot of doors for you that are simply going to be closed bc of your law school record.
Good luck --
A Former Big 5 Tax Consultant who made the jump to BIGLAW. |
| Message: |
I am a JD from a top school, currently a 2L. You sound like you could give me some advice. I am very interested in tax and have a lot of international experience. I have a summer position with a law firm to do corporate work. I am interested in doing international tax. I would really like to be able to work in Madrid or Paris (I am fluent in French and "conversant" in Spanish.) Is it possible to go international early on with the Big 5? Should I stay with a firm for a couple years to get legal experieince and then move to the Big 5? What about their "tax and legal services" departments? What would you suggest, and how would the salary differ from what I would expect from a firm ($100K)?
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