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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Start working towards being a paralegal. Get a job in a small firm as a receptionist. Psy attention. Learn everything you can. Volunteer to take on extra projects. Study. And then let the supervising attorney know you are interested in paralegal work. A trained paralegal can do everything an attorney do except give legal advice, set fees, and represent clients in court. And you can represent clients at certain administrative hearings. You'll meet with clients, work on investigation and discovery, research, draft pleadings, communicate with opposing counsel, assist the attorney in court ..... If you are a litigation paralegal, you'll work long hours but the pay is usually very good.

Something to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would recommend volunteering with CASA. It is interesting and legal-related but you do not need to be a lawyer. And these people are incredibly important.


Or become a paralegal.

Thanks. I just looked at the CASA website, and it does sound important, especially right now.

Do older paralegals get hired? Just wondering if that would be a waste of money too? And I wonder if I'd be frustrated as a paralegal.

If it is, you'll have wasted a heck of a lot less money than you would have in law school!!

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who did this. Went to mediocre law school in late-40s/early-50s once kids left home. She did well in school and passed the bar. She did work in the legal field after graduation, but I don't know if she was in a JD-required position or, frankly, a paid position. Her husband was well-compensated, so she did not need the money. After a few years, grandbabies started arriving, and she stopped working to spend time with them. I think she found law school fulfilling, but I sincerely doubt that she got a good return on her financial investment or opportunity costs.

As for the paralegal suggestion, you are going to have a tough time getting hired by any big/well-paying firms at your age with no experience, but you might have a chance with a smaller firm or a solo if you interview well and have some relevant prior office experience, even if dated.

There are lots and lots of organizations that do important legal work and could use help from competent and dedicated people, even people without law degrees or paralegal certificates. They do not pay well, if at all, but you might find it interesting and rewarding. If you need some income, I would suggest a part-time office or retail job combined with significant volunteer work at one of these organizations.

[taketothebank]

This is interesting.

I am a CPA and work for one of the multinational CPA firms. I will need to retire soon and should have plenty of money. I was thinking about law school because we (my firm) has always farmed out legal side of the tax work.

If I could practice law, I could do end to end tax work (which I cannot do now.) It would be much easier to go "in house" and work for a client or work for a smaller firm after leaving here.

Just not sure if anyone else has every done this.

[Anonymous]

OP: I'll give you the other point of view. If this is something you've wanted to do your whole life, AND you have clear and realistic goals for what you want to do with a law degree, AND you won't be going into debt - then go for it.

What's the alternative - you spend the next 20 years still wishing you'd done this when you were young?

But I would only do this if it won't hurt you financially, and you know what you are going to do with the degree. Otherwise you will be just like the miserable 25 year old law grads except also facing age discrimination.

Don't become a paralegal unless it's what you actually want to do, or unless you really do need the $$.

[Anonymous]

I would say it really depends, but most likely don't do it. When I was in private practice, I met a former doctor who decided he was sick of medicine and graduated from law school in his mid 50s. He was at a NYC firm also but encountered problems when the 26-28 mid level associates were bossing him around like they boss all 1st years. When he pushed back they pretty much fired him. He had sold his practice in Long Island and moved into the city with his wife. One of his kids was also in law school at the time, so he was paying for both tuitions. At any rate, last I heard he ended up going back to medicine b/c he had to pay for his older kids who had yet to launch fully and he had not been able to find another job.

if you can find a way to do it w/o taking on huge amounts of debt and don't plan to work in a law firm I think you might be ok, but probably not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Law school - crazy. Expensive, long, and very difficult to recover your costs.
paralegal - great idea. Money is pretty good, work can be interesting, and there are jobs.

[Anonymous]

Your odds of turning it into a career are very low but you could go into public defender law or do local real estate work. Law schools are pumping out more lawyers than the market needs despite the decline in law students.

[Anonymous]

Yes, this is a bad idea. You will already be facing a HUGE uphill battle getting hired (as a new grad) at your age - may not be fair, but it's accurate. You will not be seen as a desirable hire. PLUS your plan is to go to a mediocre school - honestly, even people from top schools are not guaranteed postgrad jobs these days. I know a LOT of lawyers who are way, way underemployed (and I want to a top school). Las is definitely a field where school prestige matters. And the legal field is not the booming business it once was.

People your age that are getting cool policy positions having been working in the field for 30 years. It just isn't a good idea

[Anonymous]

If retirement is funded, and if kid's college is paid for -- sure, just don't depend on it making you any money. Do it for self enrichment, and if it leads to salaried employment that's a bonus.

[Anonymous]

taketothebank wrote:This is interesting.

I am a CPA and work for one of the multinational CPA firms. I will need to retire soon and should have plenty of money. I was thinking about law school because we (my firm) has always farmed out legal side of the tax work.

If I could practice law, I could do end to end tax work (which I cannot do now.) It would be much easier to go "in house" and work for a client or work for a smaller firm after leaving here.

Just not sure if anyone else has every done this.

I think this is a totally different story in your case. You would be, in essence, adding a certification/accreditationto build and further your existing career - not starting over brand new in a new career

[Anonymous]

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

Yes, you are crazy to consider going to law school in your 50’s. Aside from the many problems facing recent grads, this is a field with rampant age discrimination.

[Anonymous]

If you do it, go into it with eyes open.

It’s going to be a very expensive hobby type of degree that is unlikely to lead to a well paying career. If you would spend 150k on your personal enrichment in things like sailing or dressage and law is your passion, sure go for it! Otherwise, think very hard if this the way you want to spend limited funds.

[Anonymous]

I’m a litigation attorney at a small firm and definitely agree you should go the paralegal route. But make sure you’re serious. No one wants to hire you to pursue your hobby. You need to be committed to working in the job and accepting that if you are the paralegal then you aren’t the lawyer. Some people can have an inferiority complex about that, which is silly because a talented paralegal is worth their weight in gold.