I really enjoy being a provider but I don't expect to spend the rest of my life doing it. LOL. I also have another occupation but am close to its top income and promotion level already.

So, I've been mulling over going to law school.

I applied and was accepted into law school just a few years ago, but couldn't go for some reasons beyond my control. Now I'm free to go, but I'm a "thirtysomething" girl now and don't know whether all the time needed to get a productive career going will be worth it at this stage.

I've talked to some of my attorney clients and have gotten mixed opinions.

So, let me take it to a broader arena and see what you guys and girls think.

Thanks, everyone!
Chrissy in Phoenix

Older law students perform and think better.
I taught at U of Az in Tucson and found the few post-30 law students more interested in doing something with their lives, instead of collecting acorns like drone materialists.

go for it. Those that are giving you negative feedback either don't want to lose you as a provider or don't want the competition after you graduate. You are young and have a lot of valuable experience you can use to practice.

Chrissy,

This is my philosophy, the years will come, why not have something accomplished.  I am 27, graduated high school early and could have graduated college by 20, possibly younger.  Instead I left for vegas, have travelled the world, attended 6 different colleges in 3 different cities and 2 countries, had about 4 different majors and I am still about 40 credits away from my first bachelors degree.

I regret nothing.  I am happy for my experiences and I am doing better in college now and I am more focused than ever.  Maybe 30 something is the perfect time for YOU to go to law school.

In my opinion if this is something you want to do, do it.  Who cares what everyone else says, they are not living your life.

Good luck,

P.S.
I dated a guy a while ago who had an earlier career and went to law school at 30.

Actually it is quite common for people to earn law degrees after their 20s, in many cases after corporate life or just to add credentials later on. Also Law is something you can feasibly study on a part time basis, unlike some professions.

Certain very large firms might prefer hiring younger lawyers (they come cheaper and there is less reprogramming needed) but for the most part being older wouldn't impair you.

That said, law IS an overcrowded profession, so research the marketability of whatever specialty you are interested in.

I love seeing a provider put all that income to good use! I know at least one ex-provider who is now a practicing psychiatrist (interesting preparation, eh?) and when she got her degree she had a $200k nest egg and no loans to pay back... she was able to open her own practice practically off the bat.

One clarification... I would say that there are certain areas which really need to be started young: criminal law and governmental law really require various internships, clerkships and the like to get into, so really there is probably a youth prejudice there. Corporate law, real estate law, immigration law, etc. probably are more forgiving, though.

O.

I shouldn't be answering this since I am not an attorney, but I must pipe up for such a lovely lady.  Do what you want to do.  It is my opinion that everyone should pursue what they want.  What it boils downt to is do you have the committment to do it?  

I quite a higher paying job with good benefits at a large company because I hated the work, higher management, and corporate BS.  I started my own company, am sucessful, make a decent living, and love my job.  What more could you ask for?

I myself am in my mid 40's and still attend intense college graduate level courses just for the intellectual stimualtion and interest in the subject.  Point being, if it is what you want to do it is not hard.

Chrissy, look forward to seeing you next time I am in Phoenix.

Have fun and be safe.
Holedriller

Chrissy, go for it. I took two years off before I enrolled in law school. The time off helped me immeasurably.  You will have a more informed perspective than most other students. While the law sometimes can be boring and tedious, it also has those moments where it makes you feel you've accomplished a lot. I spent the first 7 years as a gov't prosec; since then, the past 8 i've been in private practice.  I enjoy the law.  Next time i'm in phoenix will have to say hello. Tell my friend from Pitt, who moved to Phoenix, Lisa, hello.

You should pursue the law degree.  In my law school class, I'd say 20-30% of the students were between the ages of 30 and 50, and some were 60 years old and up.  These people got the same jobs as the twenty-something law students.  It may even be an advantage, because when you start working at a firm as a first-year lawyer, people won't treat you like a young turd (sp?).

and I've seen quite a few changes.  I would counsel you to seek another profession, because I don't think the future is good for lawyers.

First, everyone hates you.  They don't know why, they just hate you.  You never did anything to them, perhaps have even helped them, but they heard all the negative media, jokes, etc. and think they ought to hate you, so they do.

Second, in each litigation there is a winner and a loser.  The loser hates his/her attorney for losing.  The winner hates the other lawyer for his participation in the lawsuit and hates his own attorney for having the audacity to charge him.


Third, when someone loses a lawsuit, they blame their lawyer.  When they win, it's because the facts were in their favor.  Rarely do they give credit to their lawyer who did all the work.

Corporate America and Insurance Companies have it out for lawyers.  Lawyers are the one obstacle they have to complete control.  If they can eliminate lawyers they will have carte blanche.  

Even Doctors attack.  When the insurance company raises their rates they blame lawyers.  They don't ask whether the insurance company has recouped their stock market losses in the form of higher premiums. They jump on the bandwagon and demand that lawyers stop bringing meritorious lawsuits.  In the end, consumers are the real losers.

As we lose more and more of our everyday freedoms, look for more attacks directed at lawyers.  As the bad guy in Shakespeare's play said, "Let's kill all the lawyers."  Indeed, that's exactly what big business and government wants.

Why put yourself in the line of fire?

For your benefit I refuse to sugar coat this. If you are committed, REALLY committed, I mean more comitted than anything including your profession, your family, your children (if you have any), even your s.o. to the point of losing him or her if he or she gets in the way of you studies, then you might have a fighting chance of succeeding.

I can guarantee you this law school is unlike any other educational, or professional endeavor you have ever attempted. This is not to diminish any prior goals you may have achieved. It is just that law school defies description. Before I went to law school myself I asked those friends of mine already attending at various schools in my area,  what law school is like. To a person they all told me, one must experience it to understand it because it defies description.

In addition, if you were an "A" or "B" student in colllege or grad school don't be surprised if you wind up with "C's", or heaven forbid even "D's".

Law school is an extremely adversarial enviornment. I remember my first class. The Professor walked in, introduced herself, and made the following statement " Hello, my name is professor"X". My job is to blow you out of here. Its nothing personal but my job is to blow you out, and most of you will." And you know what? she was very successfull.

Professors in law school as a general rule love to "hide the ball", and are absolutly ruthless in grading. Law school is the only educational arena I know of where if the overall students score is abysmally low, it is attributed to the students and not the faculty.

Most Law professors are egotistical enough to set an imaginary standard so high as to be unattainable. That wouldn't be so bad except that most professors (at least the ones I have had)refuse to define what that standard is. I had a professor who was asked in class by a student "what does a student have to do to earn an "A" in this class?" to which he replied "I don't give "A's", students in general don't measure up to my standard. In 20 years of teaching I have awarded 4 "A's". To which I made the comment that perhaps the standard was too high. to which he replied "No, students don't measure up".

You'll have professors that use marine corps drill instructor tactics in the class room getting literally right in your face.
I had one professor that after mid terms and finals (this was a one year class)call us all "blithering idiots".

You'll have professors who are very nice in the class room but will literally screw you come finals time, ie telling you and the rest of the class this will be on the final, and you have nothing to worry about, you will all do fine. Well, come finals time he took us without grease, "C" and "C-" was the average grade.

There is another professor at my school who is so brutal in his grading that most students wait until just before they graduate. They wait because he is famous for failing students about to graduate. He just smiles and says"don't worry, if you fail you just have to take the class again is all"

In fairness, there are some professors who are pleasnt to deal with, and who mean what  they say, and grade on a reasonable standard, but they are few and far in between.

I had another professor who was brand new, and he declared that if the entire class delivered "A" work he had no problem giving the entire class an "A". Well he ended up giving 85% of the class "A's". He was called onto the carpet by the administration.

I swear I am not making any of this up.

If I haven't scared you off (and I hope you aren't)allow me to  give you the following advice.

I personally think that  study groups are a waste of time, however if they work for you go for it.

You will start with Criminal law, Torts, Contracts, and depending on the school, Property, and Civil Procedure.

Four or five weeks into the semester go to the bookstore, or the library and get old exam essay questions. At four or five weesk you dont know much but you know enough to be able to identify some of the issues in the fact pattern.

Write up your answer to the fact pattern, and make an appointment with your professor, or an outside tutoring service.

Trust me when I say this, I don't care if you had a 4.0 gpa in college or grad school. I guarantee you do not kn0ow how to answer a law school exam till a professor or outside tutor familiar your professors technique critiques you first attempt.

Dont be surprised if he or she totally destroys what you wrote. Thats ok. Take what they tell you and try again, and keep going back till you get it.

If you dont I can guarantee you wont make it in law school.

I dont have pm but if you wish email me at [email protected].

Good luck

I went back to school after almost ten years out. I had worked in a number of areas. Going back to school after working was an advantage. I knew how to work from 8 to 5 and then go home and do the homework. But the older students like myself believed that placement was an issue for us. For our class rank, we did not place as well as the more traditional students. But it is a great profession, addressing a jury is as much fun as you can imagine. Go for it, girl. It is a blast.

I'm ~40 and in law school right now (half way through).  I've had none of the bad experiences caharmon reports.  In fact, my experiences have been quite the opposite.

I think it really varies a lot from one school to the next.  The school I attend seems to go out of its way to dispell the "Paper Chase" myth.  It is true that the grades are not as inflated as they are at most schools (personal peeve, although C is supposed to be average, it is usually used only for unacceptable work), but, in my experience, the work is by no means impossible and the professors are generally pleasant.

I work full time and go at night, so I'm only taking a 3/4 load.  Law school takes up a lot of time, but it is not particularly difficult, just time consuming.  The classes are often quite interesting.  I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of in-class discussions.  Yes, sometimes the professors ask students questions without clear answers (the idea is to make you think rather than just regurgitate information), but that's the nature of the craft.  As long as you're not frightfully shy, this shouldn't be a problem.

The tests are as scary as you make them.  If you got into the school, you should be able to handle them.  They're a game.  Once you learn the rules, they aren't so bad.  In the end half of the class is in the bottom half.  No one wants to be there, but someone has to be and you still get the degree.  So don't sweat it if you get a grade you don't like.

Of course as I said, YMMV, but don't let one person's bad experience scare you off.  Personally, I think law school's great.  You won't know until you try it yourself.

As someone who did go to law school in his thirties I say
Of course you should go, if being a lawyer is what you really want. Unfortunately, going to law school is something that many people do just because they don't know what else to do with themselves. Consider: have you often thought about lawyering as you were growing up? Do you find yourself reading articles on issues of law in the newspaper? Do you enjoy being with your lawyer clients. Lawyers are almost always smart, but often not deep, especially if they've gone to law school right out of college.

Actually, you're not that old for law school; they'll be plenty in your law school class older than you, especially if you're in a night program. That said, you should still go for a day program if you can. It's almost unanamous amongst night students that the last year is hell.

Fortunately, law school is relatively quick.(Though it feels endless  when you're in it. Indeed, you'll often feel like Sisyphus.) But it's not fun. And it's lots of work. Believe me, you'll study like you've never studied before--more than in most graduate programs (I've done both.) You won't have time for stimulating intellectual discussions, or for reading much of anything else but law.

That said, go for it. In three or four years you'll be done, and you'll be the same age you'd be if you hadn't gone.

As for me, if I had it to do over, I'd go to medical school, and study plastic surgery. I'd love to make average women beautiful, and help beautiful women stay beautiful.

I forgot to respond to your most important q: career after law school. Even after the attrition of those who don't pass the bar (In NY pass rate is about 75% for first time test takers. It might be a little higher in other states), there is still a glut of lawyers. If you don't go to a top law school, get top grades, make law review, or have some other useful expertise (ie med mal firms like nurses,some immigration firms like those fluent in spanish, firms that practice international law like chinese, japanese and arabic speakers), you'll be pounding the pavement a bit before you get a job, and your starting salary won't be that high.(Government jobs often pay more than private jobs to start, and they're more likely to hire older graduates, but you won't have the earning potential of being in a private firm.) Nevertheless, you will get a job. but a final word of advice : start cultivating your contacts now.

I really enjoy their company.  I found them articulate, street smart and flexible about opinions.  We both share the love for words (My majors were English and Journalism, not from this country tho.), especially if they are trial lawyers, I am often taken by their charm too.  Some of them told me that I should be a lawyer but it's a profession I never fancy about.  I'm tired of arguments or trying to convince others about some pointview, and that's what I imagine would be mostly lawyers' job.  But I do believe going to law school at 30 is one of the best things people can do to themselves.  As one of my favorite clients says: everyone should get a law license or degree.  

At least I did not sugar coat it like you did. Fram knows what I am talking about when I say "repeating the facts"

Although I suppose if you are fortunate enough to get into a what I call a "Designer Label", ie an ABA law school then I suppose Fram's interpretation is true.

Presuming one is fortunate enough to be admitted,Most ABA schools hold the student's hand and spoon feed him or her all the way to the bar, giving them anything they want just short of the answers to the final.

Now, I concede that in most cases if you want to practice outside of your current domicile, you will have no choice but to go to an ABA school. Perhaps, one of these days congress will open its eyes and see the unreasonable, and arguably illegal grip the ABA has on the legal profession and castrate it as it rightfully deserves.

If however, you want to go to a real law school, one that has professors who are admitedly  unreasonable at times but who have an actual practice, then go to a lower tier school. By going to a lower tier school you accomplish two things. First, the fees are much less, but more important, you learn "Guerilla warfare law".  I have professors who bring real world experience into the class room. Professors who are proud of what they have acheieved, and tell it like it is. Unlike, professors at ABA schools who are so wrapped up in theory, and look upon the actual practice of law with disdain, if they have even practiced law. Yes it's true. Some professors in ABA schools haven't practiced law a day in their lives. Please don't misunderstand. I stand by every word I said earlier about how the professors treat us. Even so, I would rather be treated this way, if for no other reason than it toughens you up in preparation for dealing with some judges who treat counsel even worse in court.

When I graduate, I will be prepared to deal with all those things that ABA schools either don't teach you or don't tell you

True, you won't get a job at a major firm like Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, et al, But at your age they wouldn't hire you even if you had gone to an ABA school. Granted, there will be the occasional exception, but this is the rule.

I never said law school has been a bad experience. I just believe in being realistic as opposed being politically correct.

Fram and I DO agree on one thing. Law school is a game. Learn the rules, and learn them quickly.

Good Luck

The one thing I would add to all this is that make sure you know why you want to go to law school.  There are a lot of lawyers out there.  The one thing about changing directions in the 30's (I did it) is that after you get out of school you it takes 5 years minimum to learn the ropes.   By then in your 40's it's getting late to change again if you don't like it.  So be sure you choose something that you feel attracted to beyond the potential income it represents.  But there's no reason at all to worry about changing in your 30's.  Hell, you've just begun adulthood!