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Chief
Just finished work. What’s everyone listening to?
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So who else is at Hilton Orlando this week?
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It’s been done before
Never too late. Just depends on how many years you want to work afterward (and WLB desired)
Pro
Is your body ready to burn the midnight oil for a couple years after graduation?
Never too late for anything. Besides you don't need to start a career again, you can leverage a law degree upon your current career.
If you have to ask….
you already know.
It’s a little late but try to get out there and do new things that bring you fulfillment outside of your career.
You have the 💰 💰 to pay tuition? also count the number of years you won’t be earning a salary
Chief
Gi Bill gives you a housing allowance in addition to covering your tuition, and it's tax free. It's like $2400/mo in hcol.
It's like having an effective salary of about 45k. Not great if you got a lot of bills but if you only need to pay for food and rent, it should be sufficient
I know someone who went in when they were 50! If you love it, then why not?
You mentioned GI bill, are you recently retired from active duty?
Either way, unless it is your life’s ambition to become an attorney and you will be utterly unfulfilled if you don’t, I’d say not worth it.
Law school is no joke, especially if you haven’t been in a classroom for awhile. Pay for attorneys not in big law can easily be matched in other fields like tech, consulting, or banking. Big law seems like a terrible place to work on its best day. Can’t imagine grinding with associates 10 years younger than you when most people your age are partners.
This is helpful
Pro
I think it depends. If you’re in cyber and you want a privacy law JD, it could be a great add on to your career. If it’s a completely unrelated path and your previous skill set has no bearings in your new field, it’s a tougher and longer road and you’ll have to ask yourself, how bad do you want it?
If you want to practice in big law, the equivalent to MBB/T2, then you need to get into a T14 law school, which needs a high lsat and undergrad gpa even with a ton of work experience, unless DEI. Then, even if you got a big law offer, expect to grind more hours than MBB associates with higher expectations
You can get into big law from top 30 or even top 50 schools. But will require higher grades the further down the list you are. The top 2/3rds of a T-14 class will make it into big law. The top 1/3 of T-30 will get into big law and it gets harder from there. But not impossible
Let me give you some candid advice - don’t do it, It’s not worth it. I’m in my 30s and started law school, but will probably drop at the end of this semester. It’s not what I was expecting and I don’t enjoy the company of my classmates, whose lives and perspectives are completely different. Though I had a <170 LSAT, was able to get a substantial scholarship. Even if it’s free I wouldn’t do it.
Here’s the golden finding for you - numerous attorneys , including alum of my school, told me not to do it, but one guy said do it for a semester to get it out of your system and you’ll see for yourself why it’s not worth it. He was right. So, no regrets now, I tried it and know for a fact it’s not worth it (for me).
Unless you’re super passionate about practicing law, it’s not a worthwhile use of time to dedicate towards a degree. I’m literally procrastinating a legal writing paper due at 8:30am.
Very helpful, thank you. I think all of this is spot on. Good luck with your paper.
It’s never to late to change paths but keep in mind the energy, effort, and time you’ll be putting in.
It also can depend on what kind of law you want to study. Will it supplement your current career or do you want to start brand new? Those are the things you need to ask yourself.
It’s too late to start as an associate in your 20’s and work 90 hours a week to become partner while your children hate you and your spouse won’t talk to you anymore. BUT it’s obviously never too late to become a practicing lawyer, just won’t get to climb the big law ladder. Which actually might be a feature, not a bug.
It is NEVER too late! I was accepted twice, and never went. Don’t be like me. #regret
Like the positive attitude here, but be pragmatic. Rushing to do things you like may give you instant gratification, until it won’t…..you know better though- to each their own!
Go for it!!!
Never too late!!! I am thinking of going to school for a commercial pilot.
Too late according to whom? You'll get a different answer based on what everyone here thinks the right path is. According to the standard memo, most will say yes.
But...what's your reason? If something compelling is waiting on the other side then why not? And would you regret going "too late" vs not going at all?
Wishing you good luck!
Get into the best law school you can, so that you have a shot to be picked up by a good firms
Depends on why you want to do it. If it’s something you are genuinely passionate about, it’s never too late