First, I'd like to say hello to everyone on the forum and express my gratitude for the information here so far. I've tried to read a good bit before posting but would appreciate some feedback and insight if possible.

I am a 2009 graduate from a Southern public law school (Tier 2) who finished in the top 20% of my class, had some journal experience, plenty of work experience, and was on scholarship. Since I graduated I've never been unemployed, laid off, etc and have been fortunate to work in both the wireless/telecommunications fields and real estate/commercial/banking at two different private firms. I only changed jobs middle of last year to be closer to home for family reasons.

With that said, I have been debating on returning to school to pursue an LLM in tax for a couple years. I decided not to originally do so because of the economy and having the good fortune of having a well paying, full time gig. However, my concern doing so now is obviously A) giving up another full time gig B) the expense involved C) actually getting in and D) job prospects thereafter.

While I do not have hard tax and/or accounting work experience I have spent my post grad time and during law school working for very large, sophisticated clients in the commercial and corporate arena. I guess the elephant in the room is will this background help or hurt me as it affects all of my concerns above. Sorry for the lengthy post but figured I'd lay it all out there. I'm planning on applying in the next few weeks hopefully by mid-late January. To boil it down, should I consider this move and if so what chances do y'all think I stand in getting into a Top program? Thanks in advance.

I don't think the work experience would hurt you, as long as you can relate in your personal statement the reason you want to go back for your Tax LLM. Have you always had an interest in tax? Did you take any tax courses in law school? If not, why not, and what makes you interested in tax now? If you were exposed to tax issues during post-JD employment and that sparked your desire to get a fuller understanding of this area of law, that would be a great thing to put in your personal statement. If you've never had any tax experience, academic or practical, then schools may wonder why exactly you are pursuing this degree. But I don't think your grades, school ranking, or work experience would preclude you from being accepted to a top school.

Also, if you have a job that you like and that is somewhat tax-related, is there any chance that you could get them to pay for the LLM, or do it part time? If not, and you KNOW you want to work in tax, then I think you just need to decide for yourself whether the cost is worth it. (In my situation, it is, for others, it might not be.) I think the main concern is deciding why you want to leave your current job, what your dream career would be, and does that dream career require an LLM in tax, or would you be better suited doing a part time program such as a Masters of Tax and working the entire time. (The reason I suggest an MTax is that they are offered at many business schools and you wouldn't be forced to move to either NYC, DC, or Gainesville.) But overall I think the cost/benefit and job prospects questions can only be answered if you know where you would want to be post-LLM. In the meantime, you might as well apply, as the schools are already issuing decisions.