Law school in my 50s

Neonzeus
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:43:10 +0000

I’d also look at the three years of demanding law school, eating into your remaining earning years (aside from any debt you would incur at this point in your life) – with the payoff potentially a legal job for the balance of your career years. Legal jobs are generally pretty stressful, so the life-style value of the payoff is questionable. I’ve been practicing law for >30 yrs and am in my mid-to-late 50s. IMO, the return on this investment looks pretty poor.

On the other hand, if (a) you have money to burn, so you’re not going into debt to do this, (b) you aren’t worried about making entry level legal wages or having to reapply for your current job in three years, hoping they still remember any encouragement or promises they are giving today, (c) this is a lifetime dream, and (d) this isn’t some kind of emotional, over-the-top mid-life crisis (in which case I’d say consider buying a vacation condo, going on a fantasy trip or buying a convertible with the money instead) or an unhealthy competition with an ex-spouse or kid in grad school/college…I’d say go for it.

Mature students did well in my law school class, and appeared to have more focus on their studies than many of the students right out of college. Many of them had businesses of their own and were seeking skills to enhance their current employment. They all seemed pretty satisfied with their decisions to go to law school.