Is 68 too old for law school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who is going to hire a 72-year-old lawyer?

Mom's estate lawyer is pushing 90.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a strong urge to study law and become a criminal law attorney. I'm in D.C. which has several law schools, with at least one (Catholic) having a night school. Yes? No?

You’d get out at 72 at the youngest. Then it’s very very hard work, especially criminal law when you’re literally tasked with keeping clients out of jail. Yes you’re too damned old.

She’s gonna be 72 regardless….
She doesn’t have to be the primary attorney but she could be a valuable to add to a diverse team.

That’s not how being a public defender works. One attorney carries a case load of many 100 cases/clients at a time. It’s not a team of attorneys per case. There’s no funding for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a strong urge to study law and become a criminal law attorney. I'm in D.C. which has several law schools, with at least one (Catholic) having a night school. Yes? No?

If you have the money, go for it. But I would not go into debt at the amounts law school require at 68. My mom went to grad school in her 60s and now, at 70, has $40K in student loans. Law school is way worse.

Then there is the curve once graduated. You're going to need to build up to a full on practice/ability to competently represent clients independently. So you're looking at finishing, building up a practice/skills, and saddle with loans in your mid-70s.

But if you can afford it, law school is a very interesting course of study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, thank you. I wanted to be an attorney -- in particular, a public defender. I don't need to make money. But if the thinking here is no, I'd accept that. Thank you.


-- OP

Don’t write off your dream so quickly.

While I applaud having dreams, particularly academic ones, I agree with those who have said that someone facing criminal charges needs more than an elderly novice attorney probably has to throw at their case. Having said that, I think you should see if you can take a few courses. Many universities allow seniors to audit for free or for a nominal fee — although I don’t know if this extends to law school courses. See how you feel about what’s required, including pulling a few all nighters and rote memorization. Take the LSATs or whatever you need to do. Then assess yourself every step of the way, and get feedback. If someone you loved desperately needed a lawyer, would you, as an elderly novice be a good choice?

I think you should only do this if the process of attending law school is one that you would find valuable. If the true value for you would only come after you have been accepted, slogged through 3+ years of law school, AND passed the bar exam, I’d probably suggest leaning into another — possibly legally adjacent— dream.

Novice PD aren't given high-stakes cases. And every attorney is a novice when they come out of law school, "elderly" or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a strong urge to study law and become a criminal law attorney. I'm in D.C. which has several law schools, with at least one (Catholic) having a night school. Yes? No?

Starting law school at age 68/69 is not a good idea. Plus--sorry to say--there is a good chance that you'll be viewed by other students & by law profs as a pain in the butt with time consuming questions that are best left for socializing over coffee.

Do you really have to be an ageist @zzhat? My 18yo complained vehemently his first year college about all the "dumb" questions and "when would it stop?" Nary a person over 25 in his midst.

[Anonymous]

OP if it's something that interests you and you feel that through your existing influence and connections that you can make a difference with this, I'd say go for it. The only reason not to do it is if you can't have a meaningful impact.

My uncle retired as a general accountant and now part times as a forensic accountant, unravelling huge fraud cases. He's 73 and he's been doing it since his late 60s. He has the connections and the brain.

Don't be put off by the conventional folks here.

[Anonymous]

Gotta LOL and “do it for the love of learning”. I loved college and the learning I did there. I’m 50 and would consider a Masters. Law schools is very much not that. Law school is a boot camp. It’s an enormous amount of work, much of it on very dry, boring material. And unbelievably stressful. And generally cutthroat. I mean— a year of property law, a year of civil procedure, a year semester of criminal law, a year of constitutional law (most of IT not the fun stuff), TORTs, evidence. Rule against perpetuities anyone?. All learned by reading and outlining old Supreme Court cases and then being pointed at by a professor and told so stand and drilled in front of your classmates for an hour. Plus, all the secured transactions, etc you need for the bar.

I’m happy with where I ended up with a law degree (but was miserable the first 5 years of practice, as many people are when they are bottom of the totem poll). But I hated law school. And I don’t know a single lawyer who enjoyed. It’s drill and kill in a high stress environment. See how The payoff could be wortH it in Your 60s and 70s.

And it’s easily an 80 hour week. Assuming your brain processes as fast as a 24 year olds. Which, it doesn’t. And it isn’t small seminars debating the big legal issue of our day. It’s reading and notating cases, then praying you don’t get called on on the one day you ran out of time.

FYI You can represent social security disability claimants in agency hearing and at the appeals level (but not in federal court) without a JD. May also be possible before the VA. Doing something like that might be a better option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go For It

Mom has an RN coming around once a week from hospice. The RN is way over 80. She told me she has been working as an RN forever. She likes going to peoples homes for hospice as the workload is easier.

Nobody's saying an experienced lawyer can't continue to practice into her 80s. Or even change fields to public defense. But to start your education at 68 and be a hard scrabble newbie at 72 ... that's tough. And even then, I'd say go for it but in a different field: trusts and estates, landlord tenant, employment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, thank you. I wanted to be an attorney -- in particular, a public defender. I don't need to make money. But if the thinking here is no, I'd accept that. Thank you.
-- OP

An old public defender would not be competitive. Court requires a lot of stamina, an element of performance and there's a lot of waiting. It's a role for someone who can keep his/her energy up throughout it all day.
I can't imagine it would be something I would look forward to day-in day-out in my mid-70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, thank you. I wanted to be an attorney -- in particular, a public defender. I don't need to make money. But if the thinking here is no, I'd accept that. Thank you.
-- OP

An old public defender would not be competitive. Court requires a lot of stamina, an element of performance and there's a lot of waiting. It's a role for someone who can keep his/her energy up throughout it all day.
I can't imagine it would be something I would look forward to day-in day-out in my mid-70s.

And clients rely on mental sharpness along with the stamina.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's too old to be an attorney. It's a great age to go back to school. I know a retiree who basically collects masters in all the areas they wanted to study. He's loves being a professional student

No it's not. Never too late. Go to law school OP if that's what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe all of the law schools in the area (American, GW, Georgetown, Catholic, Howard, UDC) all have night programs. GMU in Arlington and the law schools in Baltimore also have night programs.

That said, I think that you will find law school time consuming, expensive, and boring because you'll need to take non-criminal law courses if you plan to take the courses toward a degree. But contact https://www.pdsdc.org/ and see how you could volunteer in a non-attorney capacity. Attorneys need paralegals, investigators, and anyone who is good at research and writing. As long as you are working under the supervision of a licensed attorney, you might be able to do some really interesting work.

I think someone who is 68 probably doesn't require a night program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a strong urge to study law and become a criminal law attorney. I'm in D.C. which has several law schools, with at least one (Catholic) having a night school. Yes? No?

You’d get out at 72 at the youngest. Then it’s very very hard work, especially criminal law when you’re literally tasked with keeping clients out of jail. Yes you’re too damned old.

She’s gonna be 72 regardless….
She doesn’t have to be the primary attorney but she could be a valuable to add to a diverse team.

This. You're gonna be 72 anyway, so why not fill it with what you want. If you can afford it or can find a scholarship, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, thank you. I wanted to be an attorney -- in particular, a public defender. I don't need to make money. But if the thinking here is no, I'd accept that. Thank you.


-- OP

Don’t write off your dream so quickly.

While I applaud having dreams, particularly academic ones, I agree with those who have said that someone facing criminal charges needs more than an elderly novice attorney probably has to throw at their case. Having said that, I think you should see if you can take a few courses. Many universities allow seniors to audit for free or for a nominal fee — although I don’t know if this extends to law school courses. See how you feel about what’s required, including pulling a few all nighters and rote memorization. Take the LSATs or whatever you need to do. Then assess yourself every step of the way, and get feedback. If someone you loved desperately needed a lawyer, would you, as an elderly novice be a good choice?

I think you should only do this if the process of attending law school is one that you would find valuable. If the true value for you would only come after you have been accepted, slogged through 3+ years of law school, AND passed the bar exam, I’d probably suggest leaning into another — possibly legally adjacent— dream.

Novice PD aren't given high-stakes cases. And every attorney is a novice when they come out of law school, "elderly" or not.

Yes, every attorney is initially a novice. But a lawyer in their twenties or thirties potentially has several decades to reach proficiency and expert level — and to enjoy it. I’m not clear how the OP is envisioning their law career, but the slog of law school, the pressures of passing the bar, and several years of being a beginner, then turning 80 is a challenging trajectory.

As to the “high stakes” cases, I’d guess that almost everything feels “high stakes” to the defendants. And, while it might differ by state and jurisdiction, many people served by public defenders are not well served — given extremely high case loads, among other things. My question to you is the same one that I’ve posed to the OP: Your freedom, your future, your well-being and the well-being of your family are in the hands of your attorney. How happy would you be with a novice in their 70’s? “Novice PD” isn’t quite the same as “novice PD in their 70s”. And I say that assuming that the OP will be both dedicated and diligent.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it is worth it because you are unlikely to be accepted into any reputable JD program due to ageism and then getting hired is going to be extremely difficult. You need stamina for the jobs you are looking for and they would rather hire someone in their 20s or 30s.

I suggest you volunteer in your community or work as an assistant at a law firm and help attorneys.