Perceived value of a law degree in the development space?
I’ve spent the past 5 years working in an asset management function for my family’s office/retail development portfolio with aspirations of becoming a developer myself. Due to the passing of a relative, the decision was made to liquidate the portfolio which will free me up to pursue other opportunities. 

I became licensed in early 2021 only to realize how much I love buy-side. This is likely because I am balancing this with my AM role simultaneously and don’t expend the time necessary to become a successful broker. 

My general thinking after leaving my current role was to interview with larger developers and PE shops. I’d like to target an acquisitions role to hopefully round out my experience better and get an institutional perspective on how to approach site selection, area demographics, etc. I realize this likely means restarting at the bottom of the comp ladder, which is fine, the experience is more valuable to me.

After a few years in an acquisitions capacity, I feel I would have enough foundation to go it alone in the development space. Enough rambling - now to my question:

I’ve had a fixation on getting a law degree for a while, I think Sam Zell best summarizes the reasons why [in this video.](https://youtu.be/U-ViiSKSwiI)

I have my bachelors in finance from a T15, so this would be my first advanced degree. 

What is your perceived value of a law degree given my career plan? What if I were to pursue a development manager role in a larger firm vs going solo? 

TIA for the feedback. I get the feeling this sub skews sell-side so if there is a more appropriate sub, I’d appreciate it!
[{"id": "ilcjbsz", "text": "I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions, but I think your background in asset management is much more applicable and valuable than a law degree. Law school does not teach anything that is really relevant for real estate development (or even the practice of law). Anything meaningful you would learn, you'd lean as an associate working in a real estate practice in either Big Law or in a boutique real estate practice over a few years on the short end.\n\nThat being said, if you can get solid development experience (e.g., title/survey, enviro, construction loan, entitlements, construction), you can be really valuable on the client/development side. But, this is a 6-10 year side quest (speaking from experience) and assumes you (1) actually do well enough in school to get the firm you want and (2) can actually get an offer to be a real estate associate (since the firms will slot you where they have needs).\n\nIMO - you're better off getting into development and leaning on lawyers on an as-needed basis. You'll never know it all  no matter which avenue you choose and each one has it's pro's and con's. If I could do it again, I wouldn't have gone to law school and would have found a job in real estate finance or as a development analyst. Would have been better experience in a shorter amount of time with much less dollar and opportunity cost.", "replies": [{"id": "ilcn6qa", "text": "Thank you for such a comprehensive response. As you point out, the opportunity cost has been a big consideration for me. \n\nI was working concurrently while obtaining my bachelors, so I understood firsthand how hands-on experience trumps sitting in a classroom (or at the very least enables you to have more informed discussions with profs). Your reply helped me realize the same is true in this case.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ild7ifz", "text": "Just to give you some perspective (from his wiki), zell owned 100-200 units before graduating, worked for a week as a lawyer before quitting and then went in on an apartment building with a senior partners in his firm.\n\nNot sure this is the guy you want to take advice from on whether going to law school is good idea or not no matter how much he ascribes his success to it.", "replies": [{"id": "ild8raj", "text": "I agree with you. I only include that link as he summarized my perspective better and in fewer words than I could! \n\nI figured there was some \u2018secret sauce\u2019 that I couldn\u2019t obtain simply through transactional experience in a non-legal capacity. Feedback so far seems to say that is misguided.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ildcmg3", "text": "I would argue that being an attorney may in fact hurt you in this ligitous society.  As a developer I have attornies that we frequently use, but if you are one you may open yourself up to more vulnerability during a lawsuit as \"you should have known better\"", "replies": [{"id": "ilddmtw", "text": "Wow, I never considered this. Thank you!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ildz9gx", "text": "Knowledge of the law is a singular and spectacular asset in RE.\n\nUnbelievably useful.", "replies": [{"id": "ilg52lw", "text": "Interesting. I assume based on your response that you have a law degree? In what ways has the degree advanced your RE career/knowledge?", "replies": [{"id": "ilgzh8c", "text": "I am not, and it hasn't.\n\nI do however, know someone who 55 years ago became a brand new attorney and got involved in a small real estate deal almost immediately.\n\nHe's 90 now and worth about 400 million dollars.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ile8n4y", "text": "How about a hybrid- pursue the non-legal pieces mentioned below but take a focus of law courses narrowed on real estate- title, zoning, entitlements etc. Not sure if / where this is possible w/o enrolling in a full law program, but thinking with how education is changing you might just be able to take those classes (w/o needing to pass the bar etc) to get the requisite knowledge without having to take the full plunge into the legal realm.", "replies": [{"id": "ilg570g", "text": "Good idea! I know my alma mater allows you to audit courses\u2026 I would think a lot of institutions would but have not seriously looked into it. Thanks for sharing!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ilecwbi", "text": "I\u2019m a zoning lawyer of 5 years with a little transactional experience. A law degree alone won\u2019t be helpful in real estate. I learned everything I know about zoning and transactions on the job. If you\u2019ll work at a law firm in a relevant practice area for at least 2 years I think it can be helpful, but if not then no", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ilenopa", "text": "I have had this same convo with myself. I think your efforts would be better spent on increasing your construction knowledge. You\u2019ll learn the law sections you should pay attention to over the course of time and you should always have a competent attorney .", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iljfiyv", "text": "To become an entrepreneur? Useless.\n\nTo go corporate? Very highly valued if you have both that and the operational or financial skill set.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]