Using Your Law Degree In New and Innovative Ways

This week in the Law School Insider I have the pleause of bringing you Mr. Jason Barker, the Director of Wholesale Market Development at Exelon, a power company that owns more nucleur generating sites than any other power company. Exelon owns three utilities:

1. Baltimore Electric Company
2. Philadelphia Electric Company
3. Commonwealth Edison

Exelon is a nationwide presence in energy and power generation.

Jason Barker talked about his role with Exelon and let me know that it is regulatory in nature. He works with the power grid operator who is responsible for making sure that power that goes through lines that you see going through corn fields don't blow down. He also acts as a liason between power grid operators and his company to determine what the rules are that will best suit their business.

He finds that in his role there is a mixture of law, economics and a bit of engineering thrown in for good measure. 

In the past Jason Barker worked for a railroad doing personal injurt defense for railroad workers. His interest in working in the commodities field came after a few years into his professional career and from this interest, he considered getting an LLM degree but in the end found that getting an MBA made more sense for the industry.

In making the change in his professional career he looked more for skills he was interested in and less on the name of the firm or on the legal connections for himself.

Things you need to enter the Business Environment

1. You need to understand how a business works.
2. Understand how legal departments and non-legal departments work together to be able to bridge the gap between them.
3. Understanding business strategy and general business computer programs such as Excel.
4. Learn to negotiate and communicate as the words that come out of your mouth matter.

To find success in law school Jason Barker mentioned that:

1. To have success you have to like what you do!
2. Figure out what you are passionate about.
3. Discover your passions
4. Look for ways to build your resume so when opportunity knocks you can answer.
5. Get to know your professors outside of class - they are tremendous resources.
6. Answer the question - Why are you choosing law school?

In the end Jason Barker mentioned that you need to take risks and round yourself out in law school.

Did you like this interview? Do you have a question for Jason Baker? Leave a comment below to let me know!

Are you a practicing lawyer? A law student? Would you like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Law School Insider? Send me an email at lawschoolinsider@cooley.edu