Going back to law school after 15 years in the work force

[Anonymous]

I will hit my FIRE number in the coming years and am reevaluating what I want to do after that. I have the GI bill left over and after some early discussions with target schools veteran clubs, it seems like this is very doable. Currently a lead lobbyist for a ~15BN company, but I hate the current political climate I'm in. Its gotten to the point that I dread going to things I once actually enjoyed so I'm ready for something else.

I want a focus in Constitutional Law and am targeting a few T14 programs in larger cities & USC. Ultimately, I want to continue public service whether that be in election litigation, simple contract reviews, Veterans disability claims, etc. This isn't about making money at this point, but the biggest impact for the communities I live in and my family as well


Has anyone gone back to law school after being in the workforce for so long? is it awful? harder? easier?

[Anonymous]

The people I know that were in law school after time in the workforce were usually at the top of the class. They were able to focus better than those of us who went straight in from college. It might be a bit difficult socially, especially if you are going to a school in a place where you don’t have a social circle.

I would go for it. It sounds like you aren’t going into debt for the degree and that you are financially independent so you could take a job once you get out that interests you even if the pay is low.

The reason why many here don’t recommend law school is because of the debt that many people take on. Many lawyers aren’t making the kind of money required to pay back those loans. Many of the jobs that do pay are difficult to break into (big law) and fairly miserable.

I liked law school and I work for the feds now. I was lucky in the I went to a state school, graduated with little debt and had a job when I graduated.

[Anonymous]

If in doubt, consider the part-time program at Georgetown Law Center.

https://law.georgetown.edu/academics/jd-program/evening-program/


Have you considered earning an MBA degree ?

[Anonymous]

I did the Georgetown part-time program after six years out of college and continues working full time throughout the four years. This was a decade ago so things may have changed. It was a ton of work but I had perspective that others didn’t. While I wasn’t starting quite as old as you, many of my classmates were late 30s. As PP said, we all tended to get very high grades, though of course there were exceptions. During job interviews, I found that the employers valued maturity and experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people I know that were in law school after time in the workforce were usually at the top of the class. They were able to focus better than those of us who went straight in from college. It might be a bit difficult socially, especially if you are going to a school in a place where you don’t have a social circle.

I would go for it. It sounds like you aren’t going into debt for the degree and that you are financially independent so you could take a job once you get out that interests you even if the pay is low.

The reason why many here don’t recommend law school is because of the debt that many people take on. Many lawyers aren’t making the kind of money required to pay back those loans. Many of the jobs that do pay are difficult to break into (big law) and fairly miserable.

I liked law school and I work for the feds now. I was lucky in the I went to a state school, graduated with little debt and had a job when I graduated.

+1

And I actually made good friends with the older women in my class. They were friendly and fun and shared their life wisdom with me. I don’t know how much effort this took on their part but we had lots of great chats. And while the rest of us were navigating new friendships and the dating scene, they went home to lifelong partners.

The reasons i (and likely others) tend to advise against law school is a) too much debt and b) people often pick it because they aren’t quite sure what else to do. You doing have those issues so I think it is a good option for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will hit my FIRE number in the coming years and am reevaluating what I want to do after that. I have the GI bill left over and after some early discussions with target schools veteran clubs, it seems like this is very doable. Currently a lead lobbyist for a ~15BN company, but I hate the current political climate I'm in. Its gotten to the point that I dread going to things I once actually enjoyed so I'm ready for something else.

I want a focus in Constitutional Law and am targeting a few T14 programs in larger cities & USC. Ultimately, I want to continue public service whether that be in election litigation, simple contract reviews, Veterans disability claims, etc. This isn't about making money at this point, but the biggest impact for the communities I live in and my family as well


Has anyone gone back to law school after being in the workforce for so long? is it awful? harder? easier?

Trying for a T14 law school and aspiring to work in Constitutional Law is a common strategy for a ton of top law-school applicants. So it will be very competitive to do this, but you can try. If you get admitted, then it's probably worth going. (I went to a Top 5 law school, and it has been worth it for sure. I had low grades at graduation (relative to my classmates who were a lot more intelligent than I am), and so had to really hustle to find a first job. But I entered a specialty and have had a good career; the struggles of finding the first job are a distant memory.

BTW, in case it's helpful to know, it may come off as naive to say that you want to focus on Constitutional Law. A lot of young law students say this during job interviews with BigLaw, and it sounds just kind of out of touch. Also, it might sound like you are super political. Here are two anecdotes that might be of value (but maybe not since you don't need the money and will do public service):

1. When I was first in BigLaw, most of the top associates at my law firm had just come from clerkships on the U.S. Supreme Court. They all wanted to be in the appellate group at the law firm, because that seemed kind of elevated and academic to them (compared with the boring and business-y practice groups like SEC compliance). But the appellate practice group (even at this hugely successful law firm) was actually a loss-leader and done for the prestige of the law firm, and so associates were kind of underutilized and had to take work from other practice groups to get their minimum 2000 billable hours for the year. These brilliant law school grads were kind of a dime a dozen at this firm. Not that they would say it, but some gave the impresseion that some of the more boring practice groups were beneath them. (Some of them eventually went into academia).

2. During the summer after my 1L year, I worked at a law firm where I did actually get to work on a Con Law case (by happenstance). A few months later, during on-campus interviews in August for other associate positions, I was asked in interviews what types of cases I had just worked on that summer. I explained my Con Law case, and indicated that I hoped for more of that type of work in the future. I got more than one eye-roll from the partners that were interviewing me.

I hope this is helpful, as I am just trying to be helpful and not rain on your parade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people I know that were in law school after time in the workforce were usually at the top of the class. They were able to focus better than those of us who went straight in from college. It might be a bit difficult socially, especially if you are going to a school in a place where you don’t have a social circle.

I would go for it. It sounds like you aren’t going into debt for the degree and that you are financially independent so you could take a job once you get out that interests you even if the pay is low.

The reason why many here don’t recommend law school is because of the debt that many people take on. Many lawyers aren’t making the kind of money required to pay back those loans. Many of the jobs that do pay are difficult to break into (big law) and fairly miserable.

I liked law school and I work for the feds now. I was lucky in the I went to a state school, graduated with little debt and had a job when I graduated.

+1

And I actually made good friends with the older women in my class. They were friendly and fun and shared their life wisdom with me. I don’t know how much effort this took on their part but we had lots of great chats. And while the rest of us were navigating new friendships and the dating scene, they went home to lifelong partners.

The reasons i (and likely others) tend to advise against law school is a) too much debt and b) people often pick it because they aren’t quite sure what else to do. You doing have those issues so I think it is a good option for you.

+2

The one thing I will add is that older law students often take less trodden paths, but I wouldn't think of this as a bad thing. Going straight to a big defense law firm right out of law school is pretty typical for a law graduate but I think it would be hard to do if you're not a 20-something ready to sell your soul and willing to take all manner of abuse. I don't think I could handle the lack of respect if I tried to do it today. I'm way too old to tolerate being treated that way. In any event, the less trodden paths are often really fascinating work, and, OP, I think you have a clear sense of what you want and what you're getting into. Go for it (with eyes wide open, of course).

[Anonymous]

If OP is fully financially secure and not doing law school with an aim to maximize financial returns on investment, then biglaw anecdotes about Con Law aren’t really relevant. There are plenty of legal aid type orgs where one can do work that intersects with constitutional law, even if it may not be 100% of the practice. And law school will expose OP to so many other types of law that OP may well end up choosing to go a different direction in OP’s efforts to serve the greater good.

[Anonymous]

I took and passed the bar at 32. I am now 47 and my memory has gotten bad enough that it would be far harder for me to pass the bar now.

[Anonymous]

+1 to all of the above.

I'd also recommend if you are interested in an area like election litigation (or whatever it may be), dig in and do some research and try to gauge if you would like to work at the types of places that are doing the type of con law litigation you are interested in.

[Anonymous]

Attending a part-time program may make the most sense, allowing you to continue to earn an income as you work towards a career transition and bolstering your financial resources in case that second career doesn't pan out financially. If you stop working altogether, you'll be paying for law school and your living expenses for three years in a full-time program, depleting your nest egg materially.

Also, if you can get into a top law school that's fine, but your ambitions don't actually make that necessary unless you expect to target a very competitive type of public interest or academic-type position. You mention things like helping veterans file disability claims and simple contracts work; those do not require graduation from a T14 school as opposed to aiming for BigLaw, a federal clerkship, or DOJ where a T14 background is very helpful, if not essential.

[Anonymous]

If you want to go back into public service, go full time and use your GI Bill. Apply for the Presidential Management Fellows when you are done. If you don't get it, you can still walk into a great GS position. Non-profit and State jobs may also be great for you. I think a lot of people on this forum concetrate on biglaw, which doesn't sound like what you want.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely loved law school and love my work as a lawyer compared with my previous job. I never regret going to law school. That said, try to be sure that you really want to do it. The lawyer who. I know who are not thriving are the ones who went to law school just because.

[Anonymous]

The older folks that did well at my law school were highly respected in their successful previous careers and had connections waiting to give them awesome jobs. They were always prepared because they weren't out binge drinking and hooking up like the rest of the class.

The ones who went to law school on a whim or out of curiosity left with debt and a job in the salt mines they promptly fled.

[Anonymous]

I was 30 when I went to law school. I went to a T1 school that is pretty large, and I'm not willing to say that the older students did better the way one PP insinuates; some absolutely did, and some really didn't.

I saw the title to your post and was all set to give my usual "You probably don't really want to go to law school" spiel, but you actually sound like a great candidate. You can afford it and you have service in mind as an end goal. Very doable, and you will likely enjoy it (I loved law school, best 3 yrs of my life) and enjoy your work afterwards.

I will add that I wanted to focus on Con Law as well when I headed to law school. Got there and hated it. My goodness it is boring. I fell in love with tax. Didn't see that coming, but here I am, in tax and I love it. So keep your mind open.

Good luck. Sounds like a good idea to me.