Is 68 too old for law school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Mom's estate lawyer is pushing 90.

cute story but who cares?

[Anonymous]

yes, because you will b e 72/73 after doing this part time (which is what OP says in initial post) PLUS need to take DC bar exam, which is a big prep deal. Also the readings and classwork for law school can be incredibly boring to most normal people

[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?

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.

Sounds like you & your kid are ageists.

[Anonymous]

Ugh - I don’t like telling people not to follow a dream of theirs assuming that they have the means to do so, but at a certain point, time does matter. I’m a lawyer and had a few classmates that were in their 40s/50s as a second career and that’s about the realistic max because it’s not just about the 3 years of law school (which others have noted can be brutal and the total opposite of intellectually-stimulating “life of mind” discussions), but also several years of a lot of work to learn and build your practice. As others have said, law school, the bar exam, and the first several years are a collective endurance test that requires a ton of straight up energy and stamina (and not “I’m really passionate about learning” energy but pure stamina to work 80 hours a week in high stress and demanding settings). Even if the OP started today and went through all of this, they’d essentially be just getting to independent competence in the law in their 80s. Sure, there are lawyers that practice into their 70s and 80s, but that’s because they’ve been doing it for 50-60 years as opposed to just starting out.

There were some great suggestions here for law-adjacent positions and opportunities that don’t require law school. I would encourage the OP to explore those here.

[Anonymous]

Yes, however if you have money and time, it could be a good hobby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, however if you have money and time, it could be a good hobby.

Law school and the first decade of working are anything but a hobby. It’s a grueling boot camp of training combining long hours and high stress situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Plenty of Fortune 500 Company’s do, although those lawyers have decades of experience. I retired from the practice at 67, but many people should be able to be excellent lawyers well into their 70s.

Uh, yeah. And OP won't. So other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

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.

Sounds like you & your kid are ageists.

That's a dense take.

[Anonymous]

Find a master’s or doctorate to keep you busy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

What? Are you really a lawyer?

1) Property and civ pro are not a year long at most law schools.

2) I loved law school. So did a lot of my classmates. So did many of my colleagues. You must not talk much to many other lawyers.

3) Law school "easily an 80 hour week"? What? No, lol. I treated it as a 9-5 MF, and did some studying on Sat and always took Sunday completely off. And I managed to graduate from a first tier school cum laude pretty easily. I didn't even put in 80 hour weeks studying at exam time.

4) We the opportunity to take plenty of "seminars debating the big legal issues of our day." I took more than one.

OP, ignore this PP's nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This "it feels high stakes to the defendants" stuff does not make it complex legal work.

There is a lot of work that is not complex and not high profile that needs to get done, and you need lawyers to do it. Newer lawyers are valuable in this regard. Not every criminal case has "freedom" at stake. Lots of public intoxication and vandalism and shoplifting out there. As far as your comment about "'Novice PD' isn't quite the same as "novice PD in their 70s'" ... well that's just ugly ageism.

[Anonymous]

Law school for kicks and giggles? Sure, go for it. I loved law school. Law school to actually be a lawyer? No. I'm in my 30s and I already quit law because it was too much stress. No way would I want to bother at 68!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Mom's estate lawyer is pushing 90.

cute story but who cares?

DP. It's relevant?

[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.

There could also be a lot of driving around between jail visits, court, etc. depending on which county you are in.

[Anonymous]

nah, just give the school your money. You might not practice, but you will get have a law degree upon your dead.