How Women With Law Degrees Are Reshaping the Business World
BY NATALIE KLEMM
While it is most common for law students to strive towards being an attorney after graduation - others have taken a different approach. In a time where more and more people are pursuing business degrees, having a good understanding of the law and the ability to think outside the box is highly important. For this reason, some women have decided to take a different route to get to their dream business career.
Pursuing law school, specifically focusing on corporate law, offers an alternative to a traditional business degree - where much of the knowledge can often be gained through hands-on experience. While, of course, gender discrimination against women is still so much lower than in previous decades, everyday women are faced with discrimination. Many times, this stems from the fact that they may eventually leave to have children; it does not in any way excuse the mistreatment and lack of promotion that the male-dominated industry of business enables. It provides these female job applicants with a unique edge. Not only are they knowledgeable in business, often having the same level of internships and hands-on experience as their peers, but they also bring exceptional logic, persuasive abilities, and the credentials of having passed the bar exam.
Second-year UCLA Law School Student Darlene Radichel. Darlene Radichel.
CEO Julie Sweet, who has taken this unique path to business presented above, runs Accenture. The company is a global professional services firm specializing in management consulting, technology solutions, and outsourcing services. Since Accenture released its IP0, it became a Fortune 500 company, now ranking 211th highest-valued company on Wall Street. The company's recent success can be attributed to Sweet, whose educational path has helped her significantly. After graduating from Claremont McKenna University, she pursued her law degree at Columbia Law School. Before transitioning to the business world, she worked as an attorney to enhance her skills. Now, because of her hard work, she is listed as One of the Most Powerful Women in Business by Fortune and as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World by Forbes. Her path to her job was uncommon but served her in the long run, considering all her great successes.
Other women have been inspired by her story and have wanted to try the law school route themselves. Second-year UCLA Law School Student Darlene Radichel feels inspired by Julie’s story and is working to get a degree. She serves as the editor-in-chief of the UCLA Disability Law Review and is one of two clerks in Ted Cruz’s office. She says, "A lot of people go into law school thinking they’ll use it as an asset for business, and it gives them an edge. Instead of just taking on leadership roles, they often become legal counsel in industries like entertainment, startups, or corporate mergers—where understanding both business and law is incredibly valuable. Instead of a managerial role, they take on a counsel role, which can be super valuable.” She believes in the benefits of law education, which should be promoted so that more undergraduate women can decide what to do next with their lives.
