Am I crazy to consider law school in my mid-50s?

[Anonymous]

Is it OK to go to law school because you are curious about law and want to learn in a rigorous program, and don't need to worry about making money?

[Anonymous]

I’m sure that you would all shudder at and decry an employer for practicing racial or sex discrimination, but you seem blasé and accepting of age discrimination. And, as long as no one gets angry about it or fights it and everyone just sits back and takes it, it will continue. It is just as illegal as other forms of discrimination and it would be pretty stupid for a law firm of all places to engage in it. Oh and BTW, I am a lawyer (a labor and employment lawyer) and I have noticed that older law school grads are often favoured over younger ones. So don’t let age stop you, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The sad truth is that a lot of people don't think as well at 50 as they did at 20 OP. And forget about trying to find a job in the law. This market is saturated.

Bullsh!t! Are you 20? People become much smarter and more intellectually sophisticated as they get older. God, we sure do live in a sad, ageist hateful country where people actually believe this crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: BTW, no one wants to hire me in my old field. I'm too old, skills too rusty. Age discrimination is alive and very well.

Skills discrimination, too, it sounds like.

Not really, but no thanks for the post. It's age discrimination. If you aren't over 50, you have no idea. I have so many friends who have lost their jobs in their 50s, to be replaced by younger, cheaper people. Until it happens to you, you won't believe it, but ask anyone over 50 and they know someone this has happened to.

DING DING DING We have a winner!

OP, since you are not going to law school but are going back into your old profession, would you share what line of work that's in?

I am looking for career options after being laid off this spring. I am trying to figure out what options there might be for a 57 year-old like me. (No, I don't want to go into real estate.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please elaborate. "Yes" means nothing to me.

Read the question: Yes, it's crazy. If this is OP, the fact that you can't figure this out does not bode well for law school. Plus it's crazy for lots of other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The age discrimination you mention is going to be a huge problem for you, particularly when combined with zero legal experience. I know people in their 60s with decades of legal work experience behind them who have struggled to find new jobs at that stage.

Ya, that's what I figured. It's impossible to find work in my own field, in my 50s, and with loads of (old) experience.

OTOH, I know a man in his 60s who's in med school. Crazy too, but he did it. And he's in a good med school. They took a chance on him.

I think medicine is completely different. You don't have to eventually try to find clients - even the lower ranked doctors can get patients.

[Anonymous]

Not sure how many 20 and 30 year olds are reading this thread but be prepared for a drastic cut in income in your mid 50's. May not happen to everyone but happens enough. Save, save, save and do not fill in the lifestyle to match the salary in your 40's - prepare for that rug to be pulled out. Do not take it personally when it does happen and move on to find some meaningful and satisfying job which may be at half your current pay.

[Anonymous]

My father in law when to medical school at 46, he retired at 80. Do what makes you happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My father in law when to medical school at 46, he retired at 80. Do what makes you happy.

1. 40s is not fifties.
2. Medicine is not law.
3. Professional world of the 1980s where older people were valued is long gone, sadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking for this to be a good financial decision, it's probably not going to pan out. You will have a hard time finding a job as a new grad from a mediocre school and the age discrimination issue is not going to be any better than you are facing now. If you are looking at it as an expensive bucket list experience, that's a bit different.

You could focus on age discrimination law?

[Anonymous]

I'll provide a different response....sure, do it! You aren't going to go to a firm, but there is plenty of work you could go into...immigration law, defense, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it OK to go to law school because you are curious about law and want to learn in a rigorous program, and don't need to worry about making money?

It's fine, but silly. Law school isn't like graduate school, it's like vocational training.

[Anonymous]

New poster with a similar interest. I'm 48, financially secure, just sent the last DC off to college, and both my parents passed in the last two years, so I am feeling a yen for something new. As a nonprofit executive, I'll spend 70% of my time for the next 25 years fundraising, 25% managing, and at most 5% on substantive work. I've got two Ivy degrees, Hill and WH experience, and even a stint in strategy consulting. Lots of publications on my CV. Nearly 30 years ago, my GRE and LSAT scores were perfect and I think I can replicate them. Less than stellar undergrad grades but 4.0 in grad school and TA'd a 3L seminar.

My fantasy is to scrape into a top law school, make law review, clerk for SCOTUS, and then teach for as long as I can. I think RBG once hired a 50-something clerk. A multi-decade legal career seems long enough to be meaningful and contribute to the profession. If truth be told, its the path I might have attempted if a politics didn't seem more exciting at 18. So it's my attempt at having my cake and eating it too. DH is a practicing attorney who thinks it would be more sensible to teach policy/politics or run a smaller organization. But, he's super supportive and game.

I realize the odds of each step in the path are low and most people would think giving up my salary is crazy, but it doesn't seem impossibly absurd. Or is it?

[Anonymous]

To new pp.. sounds like a big gamble where the odds are against you

Op, wise choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster with a similar interest. I'm 48, financially secure, just sent the last DC off to college, and both my parents passed in the last two years, so I am feeling a yen for something new. As a nonprofit executive, I'll spend 70% of my time for the next 25 years fundraising, 25% managing, and at most 5% on substantive work. I've got two Ivy degrees, Hill and WH experience, and even a stint in strategy consulting. Lots of publications on my CV. Nearly 30 years ago, my GRE and LSAT scores were perfect and I think I can replicate them. Less than stellar undergrad grades but 4.0 in grad school and TA'd a 3L seminar.

My fantasy is to scrape into a top law school, make law review, clerk for SCOTUS, and then teach for as long as I can. I think RBG once hired a 50-something clerk. A multi-decade legal career seems long enough to be meaningful and contribute to the profession. If truth be told, its the path I might have attempted if a politics didn't seem more exciting at 18. So it's my attempt at having my cake and eating it too. DH is a practicing attorney who thinks it would be more sensible to teach policy/politics or run a smaller organization. But, he's super supportive and game.

I realize the odds of each step in the path are low and most people would think giving up my salary is crazy, but it doesn't seem impossibly absurd. Or is it?

It seems exceptionally unlikely to me, but I wish you the best.