Law school at age 35

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Started at age 30. Ended up clerking for a Supreme Court Justice. Now enjoying non Big Law practice and being a parent who is active and present in DCs' lives. You can do anything with law review at a top 10 law school, circuit clerkship from a feeder judge, a Supreme Court clerkship and 6 figure signing bonus.

Few minor edits to make it more accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started at age 30. Ended up clerking for a Supreme Court Justice. Now enjoying non Big Law practice and being a parent who is active and present in DCs' lives. You can do anything with law review at a top 10 law school, circuit clerkship from a feeder judge, a Supreme Court clerkship and 6 figure signing bonus.

Few minor edits to make it more accurate.

+1. There are literally thousands of attorneys in DC doing document reviews on a contract basis, 4 weeks here, 6 weeks there, barely making a living. And all the ones I know went to good and even top 20 law schools, some even with great law firm e perience who lost jobs during the recession and never recovered. The profession has changed dramatically since the recession, and a decrease in full time jobs is one of the changes that is only going to continue thanks to computers and artificial intelligence. I'm a 53 year old lawyer who really likes my job but there is no way I'd be going to law school now.

[Anonymous]

Would you be planning to go part-time or full-time? What would the career path be for you when you got out? I'd be very sure you know what you're getting into in terms of finances, time commitments, time away from your family, etc.

Also -- don't think that because you don't go to a tippy-top school, there's any less work or stress. Students at "ordinary" law schools around here bust their asses to get top grades because they know they will need to be at the top of their classes to land decent jobs. So the competition and workload can actually be worse than at a top name-brand school, where the really hard part is getting in, not getting out. Grades matter even more at decent but not top-shelf law schools -- a C average from GMU is not in the same category as a C average from Georgetown.

In your shoes, I'd personally consider it only if I had a crystal-clear understanding of what the return on investment is likely to be.

[Anonymous]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Anonymous]

I am an over 50, equity partner in large global firm. Don't do it. The entire sector is a racket operated for the benefit of established incumbents only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an over 50, equity partner in large global firm. Don't do it. The entire sector is a racket operated for the benefit of established incumbents only.

I agree, and add that the "established incumbents" category also includes tenured professors at law schools, of which there are way too many to satisfy a shrinking legal market's needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started at age 30. Ended up clerking for a Supreme Court Justice. Now enjoying non Big Law practice and being a parent who is active and present in DCs' lives. You can do anything with a law degree.

Please don't tell people this. You are breathing rarefied air that does not apply to anyone else. It's like the law version of "If they don't have bread, then let them eat cake!" (Even for SC clerks, it's not really true. I'm married to one and I probably know you since it's such a frickin' small world.)

For most people, taking out that much money to go to law school is not a good investment.

For OP, it may be, given that there's a clear career path and the employer will pay half. If it's half at a state school like George Mason, that's probably even better. (Half at Georgetown is still a lot of coin). But part-time evening law school is looooong slog, and with little kids at home, I think it would be really, really tough. Will employer make you pay them back if you can't finish? Will employer give you time off so you can take some day classes? Can you study during the day at work? If the answers are yes, no, and no, then I think I would NOT do it.

I actually graduated from law school at 31. I had my first kid in law school and my second as an associate. It's totally doable. I did well in law school and went to a big firm. I don't regret it. I did half full-time and half part-time. In the end, it was a good investment. It cost a lot of money. I didn't have any undergrad or grad loans, so that made it a little better.

The only think that I would do differently is to go to a really really cheap school.

[Anonymous]

I graduated and passed the bar at age 33, which is only a few years younger than you, OP. I have never had difficulty getting jobs and have done very rewarding work. I make a very comfortable income and love the work that I do, so it has been a very positive experience for me. I went to night school with other non-traditional students and most of us fared very well. For me, I didn't want to wish that I had done it, so I just did it.

[Anonymous]

You can do it, op, but agree might be most comfortable in a non-traditional evening program. You will find older students there. If you use day time hours to "clerk" (i.e. volunteer) with organizations you can make contacts that will help you find a job after graduation. I would be 100% sure first that money is not an issue. I went late, borrowed, and needed to be making a big salary because of loans and cost of living in DC. That can be very difficult with a family. My standard piece of advice to women interested in law is to go right after college, work like crazy at a firm to get yourself a partnership and then have kids. The partnership opens lots of other doors. And it is very difficult at BIGLAW firms to make it from any kind of reduced hours position, unless you are well connected internally.

[Anonymous]

Go for it. Law is the rare profession where older folks are respected and sometimes sought after. Lots of older students at my T14 school years ago. They seemed to know everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started at age 30. Ended up clerking for a Supreme Court Justice. Now enjoying non Big Law practice and being a parent who is active and present in DCs' lives. You can do anything with law review at a top 10 law school, circuit clerkship from a feeder judge, a Supreme Court clerkship and 6 figure signing bonus.

Few minor edits to make it more accurate.

+1. There are literally thousands of attorneys in DC doing document reviews on a contract basis, 4 weeks here, 6 weeks there, barely making a living. And all the ones I know went to good and even top 20 law schools, some even with great law firm e perience who lost jobs during the recession and never recovered. The profession has changed dramatically since the recession, and a decrease in full time jobs is one of the changes that is only going to continue thanks to computers and artificial intelligence. I'm a 53 year old lawyer who really likes my job but there is no way I'd be going to law school now.

Agree. if it was a growing field, then OP's question might yield a different answer.

[Anonymous]

All I will say OP, is that the ranking of the school you attend matters. Period. You will need to think long and hard about attending any program outside of the top 10 nationally. People will share their success stories and ... good for them! I was one of them. But it is horrible to see more than half of my graduate class toiling away in temporary or low paying positions (and I went to a top 30 school!). At my school, if you were not in the top 30% of the class at the end of 1L year, law firms would not even *interview* you. Hard cutoff. It's atrocious. To think that some of these people had families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I will say OP, is that the ranking of the school you attend matters. Period. You will need to think long and hard about attending any program outside of the top 10 nationally. People will share their success stories and ... good for them! I was one of them. But it is horrible to see more than half of my graduate class toiling away in temporary or low paying positions (and I went to a top 30 school!). At my school, if you were not in the top 30% of the class at the end of 1L year, law firms would not even *interview* you. Hard cutoff. It's atrocious. To think that some of these people had families.

I agree. Brand very much matters, and not just for your first job. There is a ridiculous level of elitism in law -- and not just in BigLaw, but also in the non-profit world. I'm almost 20 years out and I still see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I will say OP, is that the ranking of the school you attend matters. Period. You will need to think long and hard about attending any program outside of the top 10 nationally. People will share their success stories and ... good for them! I was one of them. But it is horrible to see more than half of my graduate class toiling away in temporary or low paying positions (and I went to a top 30 school!). At my school, if you were not in the top 30% of the class at the end of 1L year, law firms would not even *interview* you. Hard cutoff. It's atrocious. To think that some of these people had families.

I agree. Brand very much matters, and not just for your first job. There is a ridiculous level of elitism in law -- and not just in BigLaw, but also in the non-profit world. I'm almost 20 years out and I still see it.

This is definitely true in the DC area. If you're interested in non-East Coast cities, this is definitely not the case. BigLaw branches is places like Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, KC, etc. are much less picky about the school and tend to hire many grads from law schools in their region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I will say OP, is that the ranking of the school you attend matters. Period. You will need to think long and hard about attending any program outside of the top 10 nationally. People will share their success stories and ... good for them! I was one of them. But it is horrible to see more than half of my graduate class toiling away in temporary or low paying positions (and I went to a top 30 school!). At my school, if you were not in the top 30% of the class at the end of 1L year, law firms would not even *interview* you. Hard cutoff. It's atrocious. To think that some of these people had families.

I agree. Brand very much matters, and not just for your first job. There is a ridiculous level of elitism in law -- and not just in BigLaw, but also in the non-profit world. I'm almost 20 years out and I still see it.

This is definitely true in the DC area. If you're interested in non-East Coast cities, this is definitely not the case. BigLaw branches is places like Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, KC, etc. are much less picky about the school and tend to hire many grads from law schools in their region.

Nope. I saw this same type of elitism towards schools when I lived in the bay are. It's prevalent on the east coast, the west coast and everywhere in between.