What can I do with a JD and an MSW?

[Anonymous]

I'm 40. I have a JD (never used) and an MSW (been working as a social worker). I have been working part-time for the last few years in a non-clinical social work role while I SAH part-time with my young children. My youngest is going to Kindergarten next year and I'm ready to go back to work full-time.

I graduated from a top law school but never took the bar exam for various reasons. Social work was a better fit for me. I'm looking to change careers slightly and maybe try to incorporate my JD somehow. My area of specialty/experience includes working with the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Being a geriatric care manager really appeals to me as one possible option.

I think too much time has passed from law school for me to go back and practice law now and take the bar exam. I don't remember anything from law school. But if possible I would like to make use of my JD that has been collecting dust for 15 years now.

Any suggestions for me?

[Anonymous]

Advocacy/lobbying at a nonprofit, either a local one that does direct service (like Miriam's Kitchen or SOME) or a national one like AARP, Alzheimer's foundation, etc.

Geriatric care manager could be good too. And maybe look at firms that are members of National Association of Elder Law Attorneys. They might be willing to hire you not to practice law but to help facilitate difficult conversations, provide case management, talk to prospective and current clients, etc. Sort of like a paralegal/case manager type of thing.

[Anonymous]

I was also going to suggest a case manager potentially moving up the operational ladder (director etc) at a facility. The JD won't really help much at this point, even if you had taken the bar (and without that it's basically completely moot).

[Anonymous]

A law degree is useful because it allows entry to the legal profession or it trains you to analyze with the legal implications in mind. However, you've never taken the bar and don't plan to take it, and you don't remember anything from law school. So you would like to make use of your law degree but not practice law or do a job that requires you to think legally. So I guess your question should be you want a position that superficially requires a "JD" behind the name but the actual functioning of the position does not require any legal acumen?

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about a position within the school system working with special education students with an IEP? Or possibly a legal advocate for parents of special education students.

[Anonymous]

How. How do you pay your school loans?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How. How do you pay your school loans?

OP here. To be honest my husband paid for my schooling. He's a neurosurgeon. Just being honest. I'm 40 now and I finished school at 26. We married young.

[Anonymous]

Research if you like that
Some public interest legal aid type places might also need non lawyer case manager type people

[Anonymous]

You can also try to avail yourself of the career services of your alma maters to see if they have any ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can also try to avail yourself of the career services of your alma maters to see if they have any ideas.

NP here and I gotta say I found my law school's career services office to be completely worthless even while I was in law school. I suppose it's worth a try but I wouldn't hang your hat on this panning out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Advocacy/lobbying at a nonprofit, either a local one that does direct service (like Miriam's Kitchen or SOME) or a national one like AARP, Alzheimer's foundation, etc.

Geriatric care manager could be good too. And maybe look at firms that are members of National Association of Elder Law Attorneys. They might be willing to hire you not to practice law but to help facilitate difficult conversations, provide case management, talk to prospective and current clients, etc. Sort of like a paralegal/case manager type of thing.

OP here. Great suggestion, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A law degree is useful because it allows entry to the legal profession or it trains you to analyze with the legal implications in mind. However, you've never taken the bar and don't plan to take it, and you don't remember anything from law school. So you would like to make use of your law degree but not practice law or do a job that requires you to think legally. So I guess your question should be you want a position that superficially requires a "JD" behind the name but the actual functioning of the position does not require any legal acumen?

OP here. Correct. I'm wondering if I can still use my JD somehow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A law degree is useful because it allows entry to the legal profession or it trains you to analyze with the legal implications in mind. However, you've never taken the bar and don't plan to take it, and you don't remember anything from law school. So you would like to make use of your law degree but not practice law or do a job that requires you to think legally. So I guess your question should be you want a position that superficially requires a "JD" behind the name but the actual functioning of the position does not require any legal acumen?

OP here. Correct. I'm wondering if I can still use my JD somehow.

But (I'm not that poster) ... in what capacity? You don't remember anything, and you don't have any legal experience, and you don't have the qualification (bar membership) giving you license to do anything with it. It's like me saying "I'd like to use my high school French, but I don't remember any of it."

The JD is moot now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A law degree is useful because it allows entry to the legal profession or it trains you to analyze with the legal implications in mind. However, you've never taken the bar and don't plan to take it, and you don't remember anything from law school. So you would like to make use of your law degree but not practice law or do a job that requires you to think legally. So I guess your question should be you want a position that superficially requires a "JD" behind the name but the actual functioning of the position does not require any legal acumen?

OP here. Correct. I'm wondering if I can still use my JD somehow.

But (I'm not that poster) ... in what capacity? You don't remember anything, and you don't have any legal experience, and you don't have the qualification (bar membership) giving you license to do anything with it. It's like me saying "I'd like to use my high school French, but I don't remember any of it."

The JD is moot now.

OP's logical reasoning skills sure got dusty since she got her degree 14 years ago...

[Anonymous]

honestly, I bet some of the law school stuff will come back to OP. And if she went to a top law school, they likely didn't teach very practical stuff. I attended a similar school and basically they taught you how to be a law prof, not a lawyer (since most of the profs were amazing in school, clerked for a few years, maybe did a year or two at a firm or government or something, and then returned to academia). Even if OP were fresh out of law school, she probably wouldn't know how to write a will, have taken a class in Medicare or Social Security issues, taken a deposition, or other useful things.

I think advocacy and government affairs could make a lot of sense. Sooo many national organizations in DC--every industry, disease, and demographic group has one.