J
jc-servant
Guest
I went to law school 6 years after finishing my BA, so 30 is not “too old.” Depending on which school you choose, the entering class will have different percentages of “nontraditional” students. My class had about 1/3 of the people who had either done some other grad work or been employed before law school. We had quite a few people who were already working professionals such as doctors, nurses, engineers and accountants. My school only offered FT studies because it lowers the school’s rating to allow part-time or night programs.
The costs for law school vary widely depending on the school. I went to a very good state school. I received a waiver for tuition and fees and a fixed stipend toward the cost of books. I worked PT during the year and FT in the summer. I only had to borrow $9,000 per year toward living expenses. In contrast, I have a friend who went to a private school where little aid was offered. He racked up about $20,000 per year even while working.
In the US, law school takes 3 years going full-time with a few months of full-time study for the bar exam usually needed shortly after graduation to get your license in the first state. There are numerous commercial courses to prepare for the exam which even the most brilliant people generally need in order to pass on the first attempt.
If you take a second bar exam 6 months after the first one (they are offered at 6 month intervals), then some states will allow you to use your Multistate Exam results for the 2nd licensing exam. I took this route and therefore I did not need a formal course for the 2nd exam. I only had to write one day of essays for the 2nd state. I borrowed the study course books from a friend who had taken that state’s exam 6 months earlier.
I highly recommend a law degree for women who want to open up their career options even if they want to raise a family. The real question is whether or not you are suited to the study of law and the practice of law. You need to have a real curiosity for solving puzzles, investigating the how and why of things and an ability to read quickly while the grasping material. Slow readers can make it, but it is a miserable journey for most of them. People who don’t have a genuine love for the law and what practice will entail may get through school and then burn out quickly.
The majority of legal jobs are not in the large corporate firms that work young attorneys into the ground. I have worked my entire career for various governmental agencies. The hours are more regular and vary somewhat depending on your area of practice. When I was a civil litigator and a prosecutor I had the longest hours and more travel. When I did administrative law (contested hearings involving governmental agencies), the hours were generally very regular.
Some agencies offer attorneys flexible schedules and sometimes telecommuting from home. I have worked on a flexible schedule with state government and the federal government. I now get to work from home a couple of days per week. I also know women who were allowed to go to a job-sharing or PT position while they had children at home. In government work you are not clawing for a partnership in the same way as in a large firm. You can still earn promotions later if you went PT for years to accommodate your family.
I know women who work FT while still dropping or picking up their children due to flexible hours. (Flexible schedules can allow people to vary their start/finish time and pop in and out so long as they complete the required hours within a certain window.) My agency allows us to sign out and go to our own appointments or a child’s or whatever in the middle of the day so long as we are not performing something that cannot be covered during that time. For example, someone who has a hearing cannot duck out in the middle of that hour. Another possibility is to learn the government side of a specialty and then when you have children to go into private practice while working only 1/2 days or 1-2 days per week total. Many firms will pay handsomely on a per case basis for experienced government attorneys to handle certain types of cases for them.
Finally, I also thought that I would marry and have children before a certain age. It turned out that 40 came and went without the family happening as I had hoped. I’m soooo glad that I make a good living on my own while doing something that I love. One cannot place life on hold while hoping and praying for Mr. Right. He may show up much later than expected or not at all.
Kendy, if you want to PM me with more specific questions I would be happy to help you check out the possibilities including financial assistance.
