Smarts, BS Abilities Make Lawyers Great Business Hires, Entrepreneur Says
The founder of a legal software company knows how out-of-work lawyers feel; he got a masters degree in computer science as the dot-com bubble burst.
It was quite a rude awakening, Larry Port, founder of Rocket Matter, writes at Lawyerist. Gone were the dreams of “a six-figure job at some hip Internet company with dogs in the office and ping pong tables everywhere.”
But Port has a message for recent law grads and some potential employers: Newly minted lawyers would make great hires in business.
Port outlines his thinking, telling law grads: “If you made it through three years of law school, you’re probably pretty smart, or at least know how to BS, which is one of life’s most critical skills. You’ve been tried and tested, and you’ve survived a competitive and difficult environment. …
“You know how to write. You’re a good communicator with a keen analytical mind. You can sift through mountains of information and pick out key pieces of salient details. In fact, you learned ideal high-level, general skills that can help you in any industry or business in the modern marketplace.”
Port says he’s not advising law grads to give up the law, but it’s a good time to change their perspective, at least temporarily. And they might, in the end, find a career that suits them even better than the law.
