Careers

This Law Grad Better at Business

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print.

If you are wondering if law is really the career for you, the experience of Jim Lanzone could prove inspirational.

He attended Emory University law school in Atlanta and “hated it from the moment I started,” according to an article in the New York Times. As a summer associate, “I was looking at my watch every half-hour, which told me all I needed to know.”

Lanzone decided to pursue an M.B.A. at the same time he was studying for his J.D. It turned out to be a good decision.

He helped launch a dotcom company that gave tours of Web sites, sold it to AskJeeves.com, then became head of product management at AskJeeves. That company has been gobbled up by another and renamed Ask.com. Lanzone is now chief executive.

“The ride so far has been a rush, as opposed to looking at my watch every half hour in a law office,” he says. And he has some advice for those who are unsure if they want to attend law school.

“I say, go only if you’re sure you want to be a lawyer. It’s expensive, competitive and specific. If you’re not interested, you won’t do well.”

Give us feedback, share a story tip or update, or report an error.