MBA/JD Joint Business and Law Programs

Question

One of the most popular joint programs is the combination of an MBA and a law degree. This makes a lot of sense- many industries are highly regulated and a strong knowledge of law is extremely valuable for business executives in these fields. A strong background in law is especially useful for entrepreneurs who need to understand the nuances of protecting their intellectual property, hiring workers, and structuring startup financing. 

The typical US JD/MBA program takes four years, saving one year from taking a 2 year MBA followed by a 3 year law degree. Northwestern is somewhat usual in offering a 3 year combined JD/MBA program. Regardless, a joint degree is a substantial commitment of time and money beyond the ordinary MBA program. Accordingly, it is important to determine whether the additional insight that comes from having both degrees is worth the additional expense (especially when quality legal services are readily available). 

As with business schools, law schools have their own cluster ranking. There are only four "double ultra" universities that have both a business school and a law school in the top cluster. 

Double Ultra Elite Schools 
Chicago
Columbia 
Harvard
Stanford 

Ultra Elite Business/Elite Law
University of Pennsylvania
Northwestern 

Elite Business/Ultra Elite Law
NYU
Yale

Hjort · Answer

Universities in Canada offer joint business and law degrees often under the guise of MBA/LLB programs. Although the common law professional degree in Canada is generally a 3 year graduate degree as in the United States, most Canadian law schools still refer to the degree as an LL.B. One exception is Toronto which awards the J.D.

The schools with the highest combined rankings in business and law in Canada are Toronto (Rotman/Faculty of Law) and York (Schulich/Osgoode). The Law Faculty at Western Ontario is respected but not generally viewed on the same level of prestige as its counterparts at Toronto and York.

Toronto
https://www.law.utoronto.ca/students_con ... e=webpages

York
https://www.yorku.ca/mba_llb/

Western Ontario
https://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/western/web/2005(new)/LLB_MBA_PROGRAM_303058.html

Hjort · Answer

LLM/Kellogg

An interesting program offered by Northwestern for lawyers educated outside of the US, it combines an LLM with a certificate in business administration from Kellogg.

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/graduate/llmkellogg/

Hjort · Answer

Australia's University of Melbourne offers a JD/MBA program as well. The program takes a total of three years.

"This program is designed for students who require legal expertise and a comprehensive management education. The program gives students the skills and knowledge to undertake management roles; either as legal experts in the corporate environment, as corporate practitioners with an understanding of legal practice or as legal representatives. The program has been approved by the Council of Legal Education as satisfying the academic requirements for admission to legal practice in all Australian jurisdictions."

https://www.jdmba.unimelb.edu.au/

jdmba2007 · Answer

Hello, I'm new to this forum (and just starting my consideration of how to apply to business school) and I'm seeking any advice that I can get about how to strengthen my application. I noticed this thread and, given my situation, it appeared apropos. Here is my information - I am planning to apply solely to Wharton, given that I will be attending Penn Law next year (I opted to defer matriculation for one year).

First, my two greatest weaknesses: Age - 23, Years of Work Experience: 1 (will be ~1.5 when I apply next year).

Strengths: My numbers/stats (3.75 GPA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with departmental honors in History from a top 30 undergrad   / I haven't taken an official GMAT yet   but my prep test averages have been near mid-700s, and my GRE split was 690V/750M/6W - which is 95%/85%/96%). My extracurriculars in college were outstanding - I was president of my class (which meant that I played a major role in planning commencement and directed a fundraising effort that brought in approx. $100,000 from students), a member of the honor court, a member of the school's interfraternity council, and worked part-time throughout most of college. I am also an avid runner and (now) a triathlete (a lot more fun than it looks).

While my work experience is limited, it has been fairly high-stakes work at a federal regulatory agency, working on facets of anti-consumer fraud, spam detection and prevention, data security, and anti-ID theft policy, and my supervisors state that I have been astonishingly successful in tackling immense amounts of work and providing stellar quality as well. I have already thought out my essay topics and, given my strong writing skills, I should do well with these. I plan to (post law/business school) work at a firm dealing with corporate law and hope to then transition into either business consulting relating to what I have been working on post-college (ie assisting companies in ensuring compliance with safeguards/best practices relating to data security and liability) or working on similar aspects within a corporation.

Since I will be attending Penn Law, my only application will be to Wharton. Will this factor (and the fact that I am receiving a sizeable merit scholarship at Penn Law) be of help? I know that there is a Certification program from Wharton for Penn Law Students, which is indicative that they believe Penn Law students are capable of the work required at Wharton. Since I will apply during my first semester at Penn Law, would you recommend finding a recommender on the Penn Law faculty to supplement my other recommendations? Also, save for gaining further work experience, is there anything I should be doing in the mean-time. I know that it's a veritable crap-shoot, so any advice is greatly appreciated

sludge · Answer

Hjort, if the typical age for the MBA applicant is ~27, and the typical age for the LSAT applicant is ~22, should the JD/MBA hopeful apply at the earlier or later end of this spectrum?

stolyar · Answer

Michigan offers a JD/MBA program too. In my class of 2006 (some 450 people), there were three or four duals.

Hjort · Answer

Good point- Michigan is one of the "Double Elite" schools with elite cluster JD and MBA programs. 

The "Double Elite" programs include:

UC Berkeley
Cornell
Duke
Michigan
NYU 
Virginia 

UCLA has an Elite cluster MBA program and JD program that is often considered in the Trans Elite cluster.

89nk · Answer

Hello, I know this topic is somewhat old, but I was wanting to seek some advice.

I was wondering what you by trans elite? (When your referring to UCLA)
I am wanting to go back for a JD/MBA, and wanting to be located in SoCal after school, but wasn't sure if picking UCLA over a school like Columbia for region was a smart move or not.

Hjort · Answer

Trans elite means just one step below the elite schoools. For whatever reason, USC and UCLA have not broken into the group of the top 14 or so law schools although they are clearly recognized as strong schools nationwide. This is not the case with UCLA Andeson, which is firmly in the elite group of business schools. For law, USC and UCLA are both extremely strong choices for working in Southern CA, probably at least as strong as any law school in the elite cluster.

While it clearly depends on your area of interest, if you are interested in basic transactional law with a big firm, Columbia is probably a better choice than any school in California with the exception of Stanford.

While it clearly depends on your area of interest, if you are interested in basic transactional law with a big firm, Columbia is probably a better choice than any school in California with the exception of Stanford.

johncoctostan · Answer

-Edit-

yongshin · Answer

Do you know what the salary figures are for JD/MBA students and what type of jobs that can normally acquire? I wouldn't consider a JD/MBA unless it had specific benefits that were attainable upon graduation.

89nk · Answer

I would look on Northwesterns website. They have a website for the JD/MBA program with employment statistics. Very helpful information.

MBA/JD Joint Business and Law Programs

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