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Old 06-12-2015, 11:13 AM
Status: "I'm turquoise happy!" (set 25 days ago)
 
Location: The New England part of Ohio
23,878 posts, read 32,156,993 times
Reputation: 67753

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I think that the great thing about an older person entering a field such as law, is that they are far less likely to think lawyers do what is depicted on television. Most TV lawyers are involved in criminal law. Prosecution and defence.

Most people by age 50 something know that this is only one aspect of the legal profession. By middle age, many people have bought or sold several homes, drawn up a will or contract or had contact with an attorney for other reasons.

An interest in law is far less likely to be based on glamor, than it is on a true interest in the legal profession.

Law is also one of those fields where age is not a determinant. I'd be far more likely to use a mature lawyer - even if he or she was a new graduate - than someone in their 20s.

Just my preference.
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Old 06-23-2015, 04:32 PM
Status: "I'm turquoise happy!" (set 25 days ago)
 
Location: The New England part of Ohio
23,878 posts, read 32,156,993 times
Reputation: 67753
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rowan123 View Post
I do think the OP should do it if money is not an issue but I do think his age will make it more difficult to find a job. You don't graduate law school knowing how to practice law. The reason people go to/prefer older attorneys, doctors, etc. is the experience gained through years of practice in their profession which the OP will not have at his age.

I think continuing to learn new things is always a good idea but incurring a bunch of debt to go to law school at 50 or thinking that it will be an easy career change is a mistake. I will also say that if he hasn't shadowed an attorney to see what the day to day workload is then I would recommend he do so to make sure it's something that he really wants to do. Practicing law is nothing like what is shown on TV.

Good luck OP with whatever you decide.

Not always and not in my case. I'd prefer someone my age or older in any of the mentioned fields. There is something to be said for life experience, wisdom and confidence. Going back to school when it's "not the right time" requires a lot of the last.

I generally like dealing with people who are at least my age when there are important choices to be made. The pastor of my church was a high school teacher for 20 years until she realized that she had a calling. She has been ordained for only 5 years, but she has a wealth of experience and knowledge that a 30 year old could not possibly posses. She has children around that age.

They money may even out - or he may come out ahead or behind. Assuming there are children or grandchildren, he does not owe them an inheritance. He owes himself a life well lived.

This long held dream sounds priceless.
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Old 06-24-2015, 03:54 PM
 
1,054 posts, read 1,416,553 times
Reputation: 2442
Can you afford to pay cash for 3 years of law school and not put much of a dent in your retirement savings? Can you afford to not have an income for the next three - four years while prepping for the LSAT/attending school without putting much of a dent in your retirement savings? If yes to both these questions, go for it.

If you need to borrow money to pay for school and/or you don't have much in the way of retirement savings, then I would say no. By the time you're done with school, you'll be 60 and realistically even if your health is good it will be unlikely you can work much past 70. That only gives you 10 working years; if you have to repay college loans while trying to save for retirement 10 years isn't enough time. Unless you're planning to go to a top law school, your salary over those 10 working years likely won't even come close to 100k a year. Your age will ensure that you will have a difficult time finding a good job so you should expect to be out of work and/or not working as a lawyer for at least some of that 10 year time frame; yes people want older lawyers but they don't want an older lawyer who is brand new to the profession. Most firms won't look twice at you if they can figure out how old you are; it's too much effort to bother training a new college grad that won't be in the profession more than 10 years and probably doesn't have the stamina to work long hours.

If you really feel like you want to change careers at this point do what one of the other posters suggested and go the paralegal route. At least that way you'll be done with schooling in less than a year and it will cost a whole lot less than law school tuition. In my opinion, mid-fifties is too late to make a career change if the required education for the new career is very expensive and/or will take more than 1 - 2 years, especially a career like law where several years of work experience is needed to actually start being good at that profession. My only exception to this would be for somebody who is already wealthy enough to retire and can pay cash for the required schooling without having it put much of a dent in their net worth.
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Old 06-25-2015, 11:12 PM
 
Location: Clovis Strong, NM
3,376 posts, read 6,075,022 times
Reputation: 2031
If you've been involved in some lackluster, or some other blue-collar work for most of your life that didn't pay squat, I'd say jump on it.
As others have mentioned, it's never too late to learn and earn.

And of course the social security and retirement incomes are something not to be trusted nowadays with all the cuts and slashes going around.
Work hard while you're young, work soft when you get older.
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Old 06-26-2015, 03:26 PM
 
Location: Pennsylvania
30,243 posts, read 16,004,580 times
Reputation: 43973
You are never too old to become what you might have been.

I read that someplace. If it's what you want, go for it! You may decide it's more work than you want to bother with. You may decide the dream is better than the reality. But maybe, just maybe, everything will fall in place and you will be one of the very few people who will do what you have only dreamed of doing for way too long.
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Old 06-27-2015, 04:00 AM
 
25,556 posts, read 23,823,280 times
Reputation: 10119
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheena12 View Post
I think that the great thing about an older person entering a field such as law, is that they are far less likely to think lawyers do what is depicted on television. Most TV lawyers are involved in criminal law. Prosecution and defence.

Most people by age 50 something know that this is only one aspect of the legal profession. By middle age, many people have bought or sold several homes, drawn up a will or contract or had contact with an attorney for other reasons.

An interest in law is far less likely to be based on glamor, than it is on a true interest in the legal profession.

Law is also one of those fields where age is not a determinant. I'd be far more likely to use a mature lawyer - even if he or she was a new graduate - than someone in their 20s.

Just my preference.
How to Become a Lawyer After 50 | Chron.com

Age is by a far a determinant in getting hired by law firms, regardless of your personal preference.

The OP would need to talk to law schools about his candidacy and do his own research before deciding if this is even worth doing. At his age he likely wouldn't want to take out 120k in debt and then not get hired after law school. But if he has his own money and wants to do this as a supplement to a career it might make more sense.
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Old 06-27-2015, 04:01 AM
 
25,556 posts, read 23,823,280 times
Reputation: 10119
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider View Post
If you've been involved in some lackluster, or some other blue-collar work for most of your life that didn't pay squat, I'd say jump on it.
As others have mentioned, it's never too late to learn and earn.

And of course the social security and retirement incomes are something not to be trusted nowadays with all the cuts and slashes going around.
Work hard while you're young, work soft when you get older.
If he has been doing blue collar work all these years that greatly diminishes his prospects of even getting into a law school, much less getting a job after graduation.
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Old 06-27-2015, 07:30 AM
 
3,613 posts, read 4,091,039 times
Reputation: 5008
I don't know that you are every too old to go to school, but do you really want to spend that kind of money on law school at your age, especially with the oversatuarted law market and the low pay for entry level jobs if you do get lucky enough to get a job? The average pay for all lawyers is only about $76,000/year with starting salaries averaging in the $46,000 range. You can get a paralegal degree and come out ahead when you factor in your age and the cost of law school.
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Old 06-28-2015, 12:55 AM
 
1,950 posts, read 3,511,600 times
Reputation: 2770
What the heck is stopping you? Apply, already! Lot's of people return to school later in life to pursue a passion, find a new career, or fulfill a lifetime dream. What you plan to do will inspire others, now go do it!
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Old 06-28-2015, 12:58 AM
 
1,950 posts, read 3,511,600 times
Reputation: 2770
61-year-old graduates medical school - amednews.com

The web is full of these kinds of stories, do something amazing!!
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