Is law school totally out of reach for me?

[Ceepa]

>Do you know what about the law appeals to you? I loved law
>school, but I found I did not love practicing law.
>

This is the overwhelming opinion of those I know with law degrees. Those who are actively practicing don't really have job satisfaction and those who have left practice (my brother included) said they enjoyed getting a law degree more than using it careerwise.

I worked at a law school all through undergrad and temped in a law firm and it made me rethink my law aspirations.

I really don't mean to sound like a downer, but try to get some exposure to the actual practicing side.

Good luck!

-Ceepa

[miki]

You can do it. I'm a lawyer. I worked with a woman who went to law school after having 3 kids and had a very successful career practicing law. I went to school with many people who were in their 30s and even a few in their 40s. The ones who wanted it were all able to get jobs at big law firms. As far as some firms tending to hire young lawyers, I think many large firms have a culture where they expect your life to be your job. If you are older, you likely have family responsibilities that would interfere with your being able to work at any time.

But, as some of the above have mentioned, going to law school is very different than practicing. I'm on a break from it while at home with DD. I hope I can figure out a way to avoid going back. Out of everyone I know with a law degree and are still practicing, I think I know less than 5 who really love what they do. Be really sure you want to be a lawyer. You can get a taste of it by working in the sort of office you picture yourself in, be it private firm, government, or non-profit.

[juliasmom05]

If it's really what you want, then no, it's definitely not out of the question.

Everyone gave you great advice already about what to expect from Law School and a career as a lawyer, but here is my mother's story. Dropped out of college at 18 to get married, had three children, got divorced 13 years later, went to law school at 31, and now she's a judge :).

Marci

[tiapam]

I disagree. I do not think you *have* to have a JD to get a job as a law librarian. A friend's husband has just a master's in library
science and works in a law firm library.

-Pam

DD - Two years old!

[niccig]

Pam, the law firm may have different requirements. I just checked the American Association of Law Librarians web site, and they said that generally there is no requirement for a law degree for positions in law firms. However, in law school libraries, which is where I worked, a law degree is generally required for a reference librarian position. All the reference librarians I met at various conferences, both from law firms and law schools, had both degrees. I was the exception. Of course, there are positions in circulation or cataloging in law schools that don't require the law degree, but they also don't deal with any legal questions.

American Association of Law Librarians web site says
"In sum, to qualify for virtually any professional job in law libraries you must have a graduate degree in library science. You may want to consider also earning your law degree. Armed with JD and MLS degrees, you will be qualified for more positions in law librarianship."

So it depends on whether the OP even wants to consider law librarianship, and then where she wants to work, law firms or law schools. There are also programs that offer a joint MLS/JD program, so it doesn't take as long to complete both.

Nicci

[jesseandgrace]

Yes, it is within reach if you want it to be. If you are planning to apply, make sure you get the highest GPA possible from this point on, it is a huge factor in admissions. Then, as a pp said, rocking the LSAT would be a REALLY good thing. I had average grades if even, and I had a Harvard worthy LSAT, so I was able to get into some decent law schools because they balanced eachother out, but definitely not Harvard or anything like that due to the undergraduate GPA. I went to law school at 30, and there were a group of us who were older like that. I had an offer from one of the best law firms in Boston when I graduated, so age was not a huge factor, but I turned it down because I also had a baby. The two didn't mix for me. In law school I was n the admissions committee, and besides LSAT/GPA a really interesting life story, and a well done application mean something. I also loved law school, and I didn't find that it was a huge time commitment at all except during exams, but I didn't love practicing, but I liked it alot. I am planning on practicing again in the near future. Good luck! I really wondered if law school was in reach for me as well, and I knew there were some schools that were obviously but I wasn't sure I wanted to go to them (but I would have if I had no other choices), but I got into my first choice and was really happy with it. I think if you set your mind to something you can do it. Definitely.

[egfmba]

This is long, so get ready. Law school isn't out of the question. Focus on your grades, write a great essay, and do the best you can on the LSAT.

As for the LSAT, there's a great website set up by a wonderful gal. It's called Neatgin's Place and you can find it at http://groups.msn.com/Neatginsplace/_whatsnew.msnw. It's got great self-study guides for the LSAT, and if you have any discipline at all you should be able to do well on the LSAT even without a $1000 prep course. That being said, some people feel better after going through the prep course and don't mind spending the money.

Personally, I didn't do either and I got in, so never fear! ;)

As for the personal statements: schools usually ask you to write several essays - why law school, why this school, and a (sometimes optional) personal statement. If you have an optional fourth, always write an essay about why this school is your first choice (but only if that school is your first choice) and why you'd prefer to go there. This essay should show that you've researched the school and why you think you and it are a perfect fit for each other.

All your essays should include some element of what you think you'll get out of the experience and what you think you can contribute (to law, the school, the world, etc.). What makes you unique and why will that uniqueness make you a better lawyer?

As for those who say they know only one lawyer who loves his/her job, I have a theory on why that happens. No one goes to law school to practice law. They go to law school because their dad/mom wants/expects them to. Or because mom/dad was a lawyer. They go because they don't want to get a 'real job' yet. Or ever. They go because it 'sounds like good money'. They go because they couldn't decide what else to do with their lives. They go because the parents wouldn't pay for acting school, but they'd pay for law school. They go because they want to save the world. They go because 'Boston Legal' and 'The Practice' makes law look like something it's not. They go because they think being a lawyer will get them respect. They go because they think they'll be good at it (without ever having learned anything about it). And they're always wrong.

Then they graduate and live lives of quiet desperation. They think they'll just work 120 hours a week at a 'big firm' for the money 'just for a few years' until they pay off the debt and then go into what they 'truly love'. They get caught in the lifestyle that kind of money buys and get so much further into debt that there's no escape. They pick the wrong area of law and hate it but think it's too much trouble to change.

A large part of the problem is that many who enter law school are so young (22-25) when they start that they have no idea what work is about, much less working in law. I personally have several classmates who have never held a job. Nothing against youth (I was there once myself) but it lends itself to idealism and some distance from reality. You, however, are older. You have more experience. You've lived life some. You have had time to reflect on what it is you want and expect out of life. And you've probably had at least one job that taught you how important it is to love what you do.

My advice: learn. Do internships. Take a variety of classes. Talk to your professors and find out more. Go to your local bar association events (or volunteer at them) and find out what people do on a daily basis.

Then, remember that 90% of law is procedure. How you do things as compared to what you do. Like anything else, it's got its mundane aspects, and the paperwork is it. It's one thing to know the law, but if you can't do the rote things that allow you to use the law, then life will suck as a lawyer. Or if you resent doing those things. Because it's just part of being a lawyer. And if you can't get past that, you'll resent all of practicing law.

The other 10% of law is networking. Knowing how to meet and get to know people. The ratio inverts the longer you practice. This is usually why the first few years of practicing are so disenchanting to people. No one in law school prepares you to network, or to do the procedure. Sure you take a class called Civil Procedure, but it doesn't even touch the tip of that iceberg. Law school usually doesn't teach you how to file a motion or with whom. The practical aspects of practicing law escape the average law school professor's curriculum.

You should check out the Non-Traditional Law Students website. It's at http://www.nontradlaw.net/ubbthreads...eads.php?Cat=0. Just about every question you'd have about law school as a non-traditional (read over 25) law student is there, as well as answers and advice. And you can always ask if your question isn't there.

Sorry so long; hope this has helped some. Good luck with whatever you decide. It's a very personal decision. But never doubt that you can do it! :)

eva

[oliviasmomma]

What is it about law that attracts you? I totally think you could do it--but before investing the time, money and energy, I'd be certain I really wanted to go into it. One of my best friends from college is a lawyer and loves it. She is in immigration law, which she feels passionate about, and has her own practice. She will be the first one to say that law is nothing like what the image is--there are many hours alone at the office, researching and writing, and very few in the courtroom. Law school itself is a huge time commitment, just like med school. If it has always been your dream, then go for it, but if it is more about taking on a challenge and doing something "hard" you might want to rethink it. The other thing my friend has said is that if you go into law, go into something you feel passionate about.

If the issue is about grades, I've had a similar problem. I learned that if I couldn't get into grad school with my grades, that the best option is to go for a second bachelor's degree--those grades would then be the ones used to calculate my admission. I started working toward that, and then switched gears completely when I found something that excited me--that's where my comments about doing something hard came in. After a lot of self-examination, I realized that I wanted to earn a Master's for the prestige more than I wanted to go into that field. It is way too much money and time to do just for the bragging rights (not that that is your reason--but it was mine!).