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Law school after medical school
Generally, this section applies to anyone with a medical background. But let us elaborate. Overall, I think there is still demand for medical professionals who are also lawyers, due to many litigations related to medical and pharmaceutical fields. That is where the money is and that is why law firms like those fields.
Medical knowledge, or knowledge of the medical system, procedures, etc., is very specialized, and most regular lawyers are not capable of understanding inner workings and do not have time to study thoroughly.
That is why law firms are often looking for medical experts and pay them several hundred dollars an hour for advice and testimonies. Even more law firms like fresh attorneys with solid medical education and, preferably, work experience, because they can exploit medical grads for less than they have to pay medical experts.
I know a true story where ex-pharmacist with work experience went to law school and was hired after graduation and passing bar exam for some ridiculous amount of money. Someone told that person got a $200,000 salary to start with, plus some perks. Another person told me that it was in total more like $250,000 just to start with. Because the law firm was doing pharmaceutical litigation.
I also know of a couple of MD/JDs who practice both medicine and law at the same time. I guess, they are plain smart people.
So, potential areas for such grads are class action pharmaceutical litigation, medical malpractice offense, and defense, suing and defending hospitals, insurance litigation, and other areas. But the point is that JD will be an advantage for MDs who complete their residency and have a few years of work experience.
From what I know, those are pros who are actively sought by law firms with very competitive salary offers. MD grad without any residency and work experience will not enjoy any major advantages over other attorneys.
Do not think that law school will be super easy, but most likely it will be easier than medical school. One of my classmates, formerly doctor, said that law school is more confusing but less difficult and shorter than medical school.
And, there no guarantees in law, unlike in medicine. Today you are needed and tomorrow you are not. And not every law graduate with MD will receive a good offer. In my opinion, if you are MD or medical professional making anywhere more than $70,000-$100,000 per year then law degree and attorney license may not yield significant benefit, unless you plan to eventually open your practice or become a partner, with own clients, and working on big cases.
Medicine is a good field by itself and for the most part, is well paid. On the other hand, if you want to go to law school and think you need to obtain MD or pharmacist degree just to set yourself apart from other attorneys then you are doing yourself a disservice. Lawyers are specialized in legal work. And only those who are best at legal work make good money. If you want to go to law school, just go to law school. Do not create strange detours.
And if you want to become a doctor then apply to medical school. Simple as that. Focus on something one for career and change it only if your current career does not go anywhere.
Here is a good case study about MD turned lawyer. I think it is worth reading it. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/66a8/b0298f0469dac9446cafa862b80f72b1f6de.pdf
Law school after nursing
Nursing is a medical degree, but to a lesser degree than MD. Still, nursing experience may potentially come in handy for an attorney. There are different titles for nurses who obtained J.D.: legal nurse, nurse attorney, and more. Nurse attorneys are licensed both as nurses and attorneys.
This dual combo – nurse/JD is quite popular. To the point that they even have a special title for their profession – nurse attorney, and they also have their association – The American Association of Nurse Attorneys https://www.taana.org/
It is hard to say where professionals with such qualifications will be more valuable – in law or medicine, but there are some options, like working at a malpractice law firm or working in a hospital or medical group administration, where legal skills can be quite helpful.
Private practice, insurance companies or even government agencies may be interested in dual skills. Again, there are no guarantees and success depends on both education and work experience. Nurse attorneys review cases, make litigation decisions, help in making compensation decisions, etc.
Average salaries for nurses and attorneys are not much different – $70,000-$80,000 on average. I suspect that on average nurses may have even better salaries than young attorneys. And less student debt. Jumping into administration may add $15,000-$30,000 to an annual salary.
But, obtaining J.D. makes sense only if you want to practice law. Otherwise, you may enhance your nursing skills and advance your career without law school.
Now, if you are a good nurse and want to continue your path in medicine by going to medical school to obtain your MD – by all means go for it. This makes sense career-wise. But sometimes people in medical careers want to try something different after they realize that medicine is not exactly their thing.
Nurses who went to law school, obtained juris doctor and became attorneys probably can try to work on cases involving malpractice, or they can act as expert witnesses. In either case, 5-7 years of nursing work experience can offer better leverage than just a nursing degree from college.
Generally, a combination of healthcare skills and knowledge of terminology and medical concepts, coupled with attorney license and ability to practice law, may open interesting opportunities to nurse attorneys.
Nurse attorneys can testify as experts about the standard of medical care, in cases involving disciplinary matters. They can work in compliance departments at large healthcare companies or institutions.
Nurse attorneys can probably work in areas related to social security benefits related to disability because they can evaluate a patient’s information. Insurance companies probably will hire such a nurse attorney too. You may also defend other nurses in disciplinary matters, or matters related to investigations by the disciplinary Board.
You may jump into legal nurse consulting – an area, which promises a nice financial reward. Sure, you can do it even without a JD, but I think that JD plus attorney license may increase salary substantially. Essentially, you will be consulting attorneys about medical issues.
The potential job titles, besides attorney, can be liability assessor, litigation nurse, medical record reviewer, compliance officer/specialist, risk assessor, personal injury assessor, risk management specialist, workers compensation assessor, and more. That is just with JD, even without attorney license.
But with JD and attorney license, it makes sense to go attorney path or jump into administration or management in a healthcare organization. The areas of employment range from medical malpractice, social security disability to pharmaceutical litigation, managed care or employment discrimination.
The companies which may hire include law firms, insurance companies, consulting firms, healthcare facilities, and hospitals. Again, the more hands-on clinical nursing experience you have, the better. Without experience do not bother to look for jobs – not gonna find one.
Some nurse attorneys for a few years after law school keep working as nurses, at least part-time, before they find good employment in law. Some love being attorneys and focus on practicing law.
Law school after pharmacy career or pharmacist degree
I want to mention this special case because I encountered a couple of stories relevant to this career switch. I have seen people doing it either way. I know of a pharmacist who went to law school and became an attorney, and I have heard of an attorney who switched to being a pharmacist.
In short, a former pharmacist with work experience (as you have noticed, I emphasize work experience in addition to education because this matters) decided to become an attorney. This person finished law school in Midwest, passed the bar exam, and was hired by some kind of pharmaceutical law firm with a handsome salary of, I was told, around $250,000-$300,000 annually.
Nice switch, right? They surely worked her to almost death, but even 3-4 years at such salary earns you a million dollars, allowing to pay off student debts, buy a house or condo, and maybe switch to own law practice. Again, this may have been an exception – do your research about this topic. But this is a true story.
For former pharmacists who turned attorneys, the options will be to work either as a pharmaceutical patent lawyer, or, maybe, litigation lawyer-consultant for pharmaceutical litigation law firm. I would say that patent work is probably more stable, reliable and generally less stressful than litigation side.
In terms of doing it the other way around – attorney turning pharmacist – Juris Doctor degree, or even law license, probably will not offer much leverage to a pharmacist. At least, not initially. In the future, after some work experience, and maybe moving to the corporate side such as administration, HR or contract work for pharmacy, a law degree may kick in and provide hiring leverage.
Maybe they will hire such candidates even in the internal litigation department. This can work for people with work experience both as attorney and pharmacist. Oh, do not forget government – state, county, or federal, like Food and Drug Administration – they may consider such candidate too.
Inventive law schools, in the name of entrepreneurial spirit, even created dual JD/PharmD or PharmD/JD degrees. For example, USC offers such a dual program:
https://pharmacyschool.usc.edu/programs/pharmd/jd/
Such dual degrees are also offered by the University of Maryland and few other schools. I will not indulge in the pros and cons of such a dual program without sufficient research. But that is doable, I think. Such programs have existed for a very long time – for decades. On her hand, I am a strong believer in work experience on your resume, unless student graduates from a top college. Work experience, professional skills and solid network of connections. Because friends hire friends.
I hear rumors than the pharmacy profession has opened too many schools, and now there is an oversupply of pharmacists. If that is true, then switching career maybe a matter of choice, but you need to think carefully where you jump in. Because law is a very saturated field, and law firms value good work experience in the medical field, rather than just education.
Having said that, if you are a pharmacist already making upwards of $100,000 annually, then I do not see the reason to waste time on law school unless you want it, really need it and know what you are doing and what you are going to do with it. Or, unless you hate pharma work so much that you are ready to jump over and become just another lawyer. The choice is yours to make.
Want more info? Check out the American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL).
Other careers with JD after the medical field
Well, one of my classmates was formerly a medical professional. He went to law school and then jumped into politics and ran for some kind of elected state position. He loved it – that was his inspiration. Law school gave him some credentials to do that. Plus, in law school, he joined a few pollical clubs and made necessary connections. So, there is this option too – a political career using JD as a credential.
Switching from being an attorney to the medical field (Pharmacist, doctor, etc.)
Switching from being a lawyer to the medical field is not unheard of, especially in recent decades or so. Even before the recession there were stories about lawyers who would go to medical school, or even to pharmacy college, and entered the medical profession. I was even thinking to switch to MD myself, but I had enough of the formal educational experience. I’d rather pursue my original dream and get my biology degree. Still, have 2-3 years to think about it.
Now, such a switch can make sense in the light of the stability of a medical career, which is quite more stable than an attorney career. And for those of you who are unbarred – what do you have to lose besides few more years and a couple more hundreds of thousands of additional student loan debt? Such a decision is not a joke.
Most stories people tell about their career switch are half-truths. People usually do not tell the truth or the whole truth for fear to look like a loser. Some people are not happy with the field they have chosen. They are unhappy with the work, or the firm, or the work environment. Or, with the fact that their field is very saturated, I hard to find a job, and once they find it, they are being worked to death by their superiors, not necessarily at great pay.
Right now, for example, pharmacists on average can make more than lawyers, and medical doctors almost always make more than most lawyers. But, who knows what will happen in the future? I think a medical career is going to remain more stable and better paid overall than a legal career. Just too many lawyers and 80% of the population simply do not want to pay for legal services because they see those expenses as not essential. I tend to agree. Law is a made-up concept by people. But health issues are natural.
Please note, that some medical professionals who go through law school and become attorneys come back to the medical field due to its stability and generally better pay. So, make sure you think your decision to go to law school very well, do all necessary calculations involving finances, student loans, opportunity cost (a time when you study instead of working and making money).
You need to like what you do to excel in it, or have natural abilities you can rely on. And if you want to switch to some profession without incurring huge student debt, I suggest software development – programming, coding – different names for the same thing – computer programing. Unless you want to be a medical professional or you want to become a lawyer. Because no degree, or dual degree, or triple degree guarantees you a job these days, except for some (some) STEM degrees from top colleges.
Whatever you choose, make sure you reduce your student debt to the minimum, and that you have options after graduation. Under any scenario, good luck and enjoy your professional career.
Max Feo JD, MBA, Tax LLM
