Can I work at Marcus &amp; Millichap part-time? (currently a law student)
I'm in law school with the goal of becoming a transactional real estate attorney. I have no formal experience in commercial RE so I want to get my feet wet by going through the M&amp;M training part-time. Is this possible? I can probably work 12+ hours for 3 days a week at the office, 4 hours at home for the other 2 days, and maybe 6 hours total on the weekend. 

If this doesn't work well with Marcus &amp; Millichap, can you think of any other positions where I can get commercial RE experience? Law school doesn't teach anything useful so I am trying to make better use of my time.
[{"id": "idoc7s8", "text": "My gut is this may not make sense for you. \nOriginating and helping to facilitate transactions could be a great way for you to get experience (and money) during school. \n\nThat said, I do not want to undersell the time commitment required to earn a dollar in brokerage. \nAnd the experience you are desiring to obtain will only come after generating a deal, which takes a variable amount of time when starting out. \nIf committed to your legal path, the two will be in direct conflict. If you are fortunate to generate some business efficiently, it is commonly understood that a broker is essentially their client\u2019s slave when working a deal, which could impact your coursework and ultimately job prospects. \n\nAdditionally, Going through the training program at Marcus is less about the inner workings of real estate than it is sales training, and is mostly focused on reinforcing a person\u2019s willingness to relentlessly cold call people. \n\nYour goal of becoming a transactional attorney would probably be better served by interning with a transaction attorney. \n\nWhat market are you in?", "replies": [{"id": "idoe13a", "text": "I appreciate the thorough reply - thank you.\n\nBecoming a transactional attorney is a goal, but only an interim one. I don't like practicing law that much and hope I won't be practicing full-time past the of age 40.\n\nI came into law school thinking I would do criminal defense law, but then realized I like making money more than I like performing in court. Personal injury law is a field I am still considering, but I have my sights set on commercial real estate with the ultimate goal of doing my own deals (I don't know which asset class). It's my understanding that being a transactional real estate attorney would be good experience if my goal is to do deals - is this true?\n\nI have thought about dropping out and just going into brokerage now since I've only completed one year of law school \u2013 but it's so hard to pull the trigger. I have a full scholarship to UCLA and the classes are not that time-consuming, hence why I want a job. Only the grades you receive in the first year matter for post-grad jobs, so there is no need to worry about that anymore (and they don't fail anyone). The classes are all theoretical aka useless. I will of course do transactional real estate internships in the summers, but during the school year I thought I could do something else that would help me do deals in the future.\n\nI'm in Southern California.", "replies": [{"id": "idogvj9", "text": "If you\u2019ve got a full ride to UCLA, I would be very hesitant to drop out for sure. \nEspecially when wanting to do deals in the future (read: raise capital), there is a pedigree/image component that having a law degree from UCLA will be useful for. Not required, but sure as hell doesn\u2019t hurt. \n\nIf you want to be in real estate, I would put blinders on for personal injury or other things. \n\nWith the goal of doing your own deals in the future in mind, and with the probable time commitment you could offer during the semester, I strongly recommend going to work for a developer part time. \nEspecially if you have any financial background, you have a LOT to offer a development shop. If you don\u2019t have financial background, please review Adventures in CRE. Being a financial expert is not required, but being conversational is. \n\nDevelopers deal with complex problems that touch a variety of legal specialties (land use, securities, transactional, + more). By having that experience in hand, you will be very marketable at law school\u2019s conclusion, and when it is time to do your own deals, you will have real world experience that is challenging to replicate in any other environment. \n\nIf at the end of law school you decided you actually did want to pursue brokerage, being able to advise clients based on experience will win you business more quickly. \n\nAsset class is not that important, I wouldn\u2019t feel that if you went to work for a developer of X, that is the only thing you could possibly do in the future. \nThe business of real estate is simple: \nrevenue - expenses = NOI. \nAll asset class determines is what debt products are available for your NOI. \n\nI work in affordable housing, which is extraordinarily complex and legally interesting - and Southern California is littered with developers of that asset type. But you could find literally any type of developer to work for and be confident that you would get valuable real world experience.", "replies": [{"id": "idoiwxw", "text": "Thank you so much for the information. This is very helpful. I've started the curriculum on Adventures in CRE and hope to finish it soon.\n\nWhen you say work for a developer, you are referring to boutique shops or solo developers, right? Not the big guys like Lowe or Hines? I don't think those guys would take me anyways, and definitely not part-time.\n\nOther than Google, what is the best way to find good developers? Many boutique RE guys don't have a website or any internet presence. Should I search recent developments in my area, get their name, and then email them? What is the best source to search recent developments?\n\nHow would I gauge if they are successful? Of course, I'll take anything I can get, but surely I should try for the best person I can get? When I was searching for law internships this summer, I used to look up people's house values to gauge their success, but that's obviously not the best way.\n\nThanks again.", "replies": [{"id": "idomahe", "text": "A big part of real estate is sales, especially cold calling. You could practice this by driving around looking for developments of the type that interest you, then cold calling the developers. \n\nYou could also befriend a couple of good commercial real estate brokers. Tell them what you're trying to do and see if they can connect you to some of their clients. People are generally willing to help students in a way that they aren't willing to help graduates. \n\nThere may also be meet ups and so on, but those tend to be filled with very inexperienced people looking for their first residential deal.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}, {"id": "idop7kx", "text": "You need to figure out what asset class you want to focus on. \nAnd if you don\u2019t know, then choose multifamily or industrial. \nI don\u2019t know anything about the development market in LA, but multifamily and industrial represent two of the most active new development  classes right now. \n\nOnce you determine where you want to focus, you can identify different local shops through google, local news, or you can ask Reddit who some of the most active small-mid sized developers of your product type are in Southern California. \n\nThen figure out who the company principals are, find their emails, and send them an email with your resume and simply say state the facts that you are a young person in law school who would like to work with them part time and you have a brain. \n\nI wouldn\u2019t worry TOO MUCH about trying to figure out who is/isn\u2019t successful. Google them and review any LinkedIn activity. If they seem to have a real presence and no allegations of fraud, it\u2019s good enough for you right now. \nYou have zero risk at this point - you don\u2019t actually need the job, and if they went bankrupt or you got fired, it wouldn\u2019t matter. \n\nAlso, nothing wrong with talking to some of the folks at Hines/Lowe, I would encourage giving it a shot. Just don\u2019t expect much. Worst case is you make a connection for later.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idokfff", "text": "Are you in a big law summer program right now? How were your 1L grades/ranking? If not top 10%, you may want to re-evaluate the \"only 1L grades matter\" theory and be prepared to show 1L-2L improvement when you're making the case for employment at a smaller firm. \n\nIMO you would be much better off continuing to intern with a real estate law practice throughout the year, as opposed to burning time on brokerage. You would be infinitely better positioned to get a full time position on graduating. I have no idea if that is common in SoCal for summers to stay on during the year on a P/T basis. I assume larger firms would frown on the concept. \n\nYou're already through the hardest year of law school. If you really want to be in commercial RE, there will be so many more doors open to you by having the law degree. While it takes certain skills to succeed as a broker, there is literally no barrier to entry. A law degree from UCLA (and transactional experience) is a competitive moat that very few people can cross. Push through, get at least one year of firm experience while you take the bar, then evaluate whether you want to stick with it or jump to a different part of the field.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idon55k", "text": "No.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idorxya", "text": "Intern for an owner/developer. They are the ones who sign the most legal documents and you\u2019d pick up the most relevant skills. Or intern with a GC like Wilmeng", "replies": [{"id": "idq4yiz", "text": "Do not intern for a GC.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idotg1z", "text": "Work for a developer not a broker, you won't use legal skillet as an intern at all at M&amp;M.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idouh30", "text": "Twenty years ago, while I was in business school, I went to work at Marcus &amp; Millichap. I lasted less than 6 months and quit. I thought working at M&amp;M would help me learn the business and find deal flow for my own account. \n\nThe underwriting training was amazing. I fine tuned my financing skills very quickly and leaned the nuances of real estate transactions in ways they didn\u2019t reach in my MBA program. I also made professional connections with other brokers and owners that have lasted over 20 years. \n\nBut, as someone else said, it\u2019s mostly about having the balls to cold call hundreds of people a day and leaning how to build relationships quickly instead of getting hung up on. They focus most of the training on that.\n\nLooking back on it, I\u2019m glad I did it. But I approached it more as an internship and was never all in. \n\nI have over 250 doors now and prob wouldn\u2019t have gotten there without this step in my career.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idqbdw7", "text": "Bro why would you want to go to M&amp;M the place is trash.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idqd5a6", "text": "Here\u2019s my take as someone who moved from a real estate professional services role (not a lawyer though) to development.\n\nStay in school, keep up the grades, get your degree, and pass the bar. There\u2019s a much lower floor for UCLA law grads than green developers. That said, your first employer is going to want good grades, not a story as to why you\u2019re a good hire with a 2.0 GPA. See if you can take some business school courses on real estate modeling and deal making (bonus if they count as electives). Also see if you can join any real estate clubs. I\u2019m not sure what your plan is for summer interning, but I\u2019d do whatever makes you most employable as an attorney. \n\nDo transaction law if you want, but consider land use and zoning. It\u2019s generally more diverse and less monotonous. If you do transactions, make sure you do some contract work (commercial PSAs and leases, not just closings and title).\n\nIf you work the law angle for a few years, pivot to development by looking for a general counsel role with a small/local developer where you can do a mix of everything, or look for a development/entitlement manager role at a regional/national developer. Both routes will gladly accept lawyers with a few years of experience and coach you up on the development angle. \n\nThat\u2019s my 2 cents based on my career and attorneys I\u2019ve hired/worked alongside. Good luck.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idr2z7q", "text": "https://www.onefivecap.com/careers drop your info here", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "idt372t", "text": "As someone in law school the answer is no", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]