Considering a JD degree. Is it worth it?

[Moe]

Is a JD degree worth the time and financial commitment? I've been in the industry for over five years, along with having the CISSP designation.

[fortean]

Of course, any higher education is worth your while 🙂

That being said: a JD degree would at least assure you have plenty of knowledge about (application of) the Law in the generic sense. If you merely want to focus on (information)security specific Law, you probably would be better served by doing just a specific course for that.  You could also get a degree in information security, in general these studies include a course about Law en regulations.

[Datastar]

Getting a J.D. means, in general, three years of full time study, or more for those schools with an evening program. That's a substantial investment in time. Worth it if you intend to practice law. But there are emerging alternatives.

You might consider one of the new specialized degrees being offered by law schools. As an example, Texas A&M School of Law now offers a degree in risk management. For lawyers, the degree would be an L.L.M. while for non-attorneys, it is a Master of Jurisprudence (M.Jur.) 

The program is not only completely nonresident, but also asynchronous. That is, you aren't required to attend a lecture at a specific time, or a real-time group discussion. 

This is a new program. The information is at THIS LINK.

[lincramp10]

After passing the patent bar, I worked with and supervised a lot of attorneys (even though I never went to law school).  Lots of competition to get into law school, but then not all make it through law school.  After this, not all people who graduate law school pass the bar exam.  After getting into and graduating law school and passing the bar exam, I think most are not practicing law after 5 or 10 years.  Just got a flyer from a new local realtor who advertises he also has a JD.

[cmarnold]

I'm curious - I thought one had to graduate

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@lincramp10 wrote:

After passing the patent bar, I worked with and supervised a lot of attorneys (even though I never went to law school).  Lots of competition to get into law school, but then not all make it through law school.  After this, not all people who graduate law school pass the bar exam.  After getting into and graduating law school and passing the bar exam, I think most are not practicing law after 5 or 10 years.  Just got a flyer from a new local realtor who advertises he also has a JD.

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I'm curious - I thought one had to graduate from law school to sit for the bar exam?  Are there different country/state prerequisites or limitations such as only practicing in certain areas of law?

Thanks,

-CMA

[Moe]

In general you have to complete law school to sit for the bar exam but, there are some states that allow you to sit for the bar, if you can demonstrate enough practical experience working under an attorney.

[lincramp10]

No, law school is not a strict requirement.  Different bars have different requirements..  In order to sit for the patent bar, one needed a technical degree (for me, engineering).  For many state bars, one can sit for the exam if some number of judges or attorneys attest to your legal competence.  But passing any bar is non-trivial.

[lincramp10]

posted twice by accident.  i would delete this one if i knew how...

[cmarnold]

Interesting to know - thanks!