Until then, law school prestige will remain a big factor, says Bruce MacEwen, a law firm consultant and blogger who tracks the legal industry.

WSJ: Law Schools' Course Emphasis Shifts From Textbooks to Skill Sets

"We were just a bank, " says Bruce Nolop, who joined Pitney Bowes as chief financial officer in 1999 after law and business degrees and a career at Wasserstein Perella and other investment banks.

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