Do lawyers make good bankers?

13 November 2007

2 minute read

Not according to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al Saud. He's had enough of them.

Prince AbTbAAaS, the biggest single shareholder in Citigroup, confided to Fortune magazine that whoever replaces Chuck Prince, it most certainly, not in a thousand years of cloudless Sundays, won't be another lawyer.

According to the The Prince, he's told those tasked with choosing Chuck's replacement that "...they don't hire anyone unless this guy has expertise in banking. I told them, next time no lawyer, please."

From this we deduce that either AbTbAAaS doesn't like the fact that Chuck Prince was once a laywer, that he doesn't rate lawyers who become bankers, or both.

But is it really fair to write off all those legal types who've quit their chosen profession for the infinitely higher rewards on offer in banks (we spoke to one lawyer turned banker who revealed he left his magic circle employer after he was paid a 'humiliating' neutrino-sized 4k bonus)?

Even while AbTbAAaS has been denigrating lawyerly types in Fortune, the Telegraph has been lauding them on its own pages. Last weekend, the paper ran a profile of Amelia Fawcett, the ex-lawyer turned Morgan Stanley vice-chairman, turned farmer, sailor and chairman of a new company to buy out pensions.

Fawcett started out in Morgan Stanley's legal department before moving on to bigger and better things at the US bank. By steering clear of lawyers The Prince might miss out on similar repositories of banking talent. And what about all those US lawyers who move into M&A?

Will anyone speak out in their favour (please)? Obviously, you are also free to condemn legal types to a life of lock step compensation, billable hours and being several notches further down the financial food chain.

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

Wa
Warrem
6 February 2011
Investment Banks and Consulting Firms look at J.D./M.B.A.'s above and beyond typical Business or Law Grads.
Business Grads have the knowledge, Law Grads have the logic and analytical skills required to perform at top performance, now combine both with a J.D./M.B.A. and you have a new breed of candidate.
Just because of Lawyer screwed up doesn't mean they are bad workers, many of the F500 CEOs are Lawyers and i know far more Business grads who screwed up than any Lawyer to date.
PS: If i replied to an old blog.
Reply
Bo
Bob
19 February 2008
When it comes to the role of CEO there are so few people who can actually do the job really well - regardless of whether they be a former lawyer, investment banker or pig farmer.
What is important is the person, their experience and the team they have around them. I think a former lawyer has just as good a chance at making a good CEO as anyone else - so long as they have more to their CV than just law.
Reply
Ak
Akinola
16 January 2008
Although,law as a discipline is a strong career in its own right but, their training does not equip them to have the capacity to make investment decisions.if this happen, one is putting a round peg in a square hole or vice versa.
Reply
Ja
Jack
2 January 2008
If the prince really said that, it's just an overreaction to how bad his trading strategy was on citigroup.
CEO types are from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Reply
No
Not a lawyer
7 December 2007
Jean A not only is it obvious you are a banker (a complete one at that) but also that English is not your first language. But whatever universe you hail from (or are master of), is it really literate, clever or even acceptable behaviour to hurl unwarranted insults ("ignorant") at someone just because you disagree with their views. It's hardly intelligent debate is it? Which was the point of my "badly" misued mother's quotation. The contributer who says the prince still is sitting on 7-8X his cost has made a far more worthwhile point and I retract my comments about the prince making investment decisions. I still feel the same about democracy though. Do they not have it in your country?
Reply