[Anonymous]

I am interested to know if there any lawyers taking the CPA and if there is real value in being both a lawyer and a CPA. I completed my JD last year and six credit hours left to LLM in taxation.

FAR: 85

AUD: 77

BEC: 81

REG: April 2014

[Quinacridone]

I don't but my friend has both a JD and a CPA. He's pretty successful so I'm sure he'd tell you that its done him well.

REG - Nov 4, 2013: 88
FAR - Feb 27, 2014: 86
AUD - April 5, 2014: 91
BEC - May 6, 2014: 83

Florida CPA 24 July 2014
(Done in seven months - thank you Jesus!!)

[Anonymous]

Quinacridone, I truly appreciate your input. Thank you very much.

[nicole2035]

My old boss became a CPA after going through law school. She did it on accident, had so little of her law degree to finish, and petitioned the board to allow her to take the CPA. Anyway, she makes a nice penny, and she definitely gets to pick and choose what she wants to do. She's the youngest manager at the company. She passed each piece her first try, so it's definitely doable.

[Anonymous]

Hi Nicole, your post is encouraging. Thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't go for law school, unless you have a T14 school and good grades there. Otherwise, it is a waste of time and money, and you'll be $250K in debt, and you get to earn $40K a year doing “coding” – or “doc review” – oh, and 40K is optimistic. You are likely to earn less.

[Mayo]

Once read on a law school forum…paraphrasing..

“the golden age of the law career is over. Nowadays a law degree is no guarantee of a great or even a good career”

Any fantasy I entertained about going to Law a School disappeared right there.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[John Tucker]

Everything is subjective, and a college degree is just a means to an end. Some lawyers do well, some don't. Just like in another thread we are discussing the “average” CPA salary in which there's no “average” CPA out there anywhere, as CPAs do a variety of different activities.

Lawyers are similar in this regard, without looking at other aspects of the person's plan including their chosen specialty, market, marketplace size, marketplace demand, level of competition, etc., it's really hard to determine what career option is “good” or “bad”. But going based on the degree alone isn't enough to make that judgment.

* State of MA CPA Exam Candidate
- BEC: Sunday, August 24th
- FAR: Saturday, November 29th
- AUD: TBA for February 2015
- REG: TBA for May 2015

[Anonymous]

OMG, bobkorz and Mayo paint a real gloomy future. $40K a year at best from a T1 law school is not just gloomy but borderline involuntary servitude. Thanks for the input.

[JD2CPA]

I'm JD, one section away from CPA, and 3 credits away from LLM, so ask me in a few months 🙂

Really though, I am getting a lot of recruiting interest just from linkedin based on those credentials and prior public accounting experience. I'm not actively looking to change careers but the more letters, the more options you have.

Michigan CPA (2014) & Attorney (2012)
LLM Taxation (2014)

[Anonymous]

Hi JD2CPA, I am in a similar situation. I also have my JD and plan to sit for the July bar exam, but I still have 6 hours to complete my LLM in taxation. I own my own tax practice, but I am looking to change careers possible to tax law….. I took my last section (REG) and waiting on results. Good luck with FAR.

[Vlakmir]

I've wondered this as well.

Mostly, I'd be interested in amplifying my knowledge of contracts/business law in order to facilitate transactions, and still have the accounting know-how to understand the deals.

Honestly, I don't see how an accountant could do much in business without a lawyer,

and I don't see how a lawyer could do much in business without an accountant

(In both examples, I am strictly referring to in-house work)

So, I would THINK that having both under your belt would make you great for management……

At the same time, it may be cheaper to get a consultation with a lawyer and pay them to get a 3 year law degree……..

REG - 92
AUD - 90
BEC - 82
FAR - 82
BISK Review Materials
DONE! /Happydance

[Author]

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