Career Center, Career Files, Pre-Law

Lessons From Non-Traditional Law Grads

Ann Levine explores the concerns that face nontraditional law students.

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Non-traditional applicants to law school face different barriers to admission and have different concerns regarding school choice, finances, and post-graduation career options than their counterparts who attend law school directly (or within a year or two) of graduating from college.

Three recent law school graduates who fit this mold when they applied took the time to share their thoughts and perspectives in order to benefit future applicants. One graduated from the University of Michigan School of Law in his mid-40s (Scott), one graduated from Notre Dame with a JD/MBA after serving in the military (Todd), and one attended Western New England after 20+ years as a paralegal and office manager for a large law firm (Susan).

1. What were some of your concerns applying to law school as a non-traditional applicant? What were some challenges you faced because you were not right out of college?

Susan: “My only concern was whether any law school in the USA would be interested in a 46 year old woman who earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1986 and who could not do a “Logic Game” to save her life. Although I did very well in college, more than 20 years had passed since I graduated, and I also struggled with the LSAT.”

Todd: “As a military veteran, it was challenging to ensure that my resume and references to jobs, etc. were understandable (in plain English). I also found it important to be able to articulate (1) why law school and (2) why now.”

2. How did you use the personal statement/diversity statement of the law school application to explain some of your decisions/work history/experience?

Susan: “We nontraditional students have to explain decades more life experience (good and bad) on our law school applications than our classmates have to explain on theirs. My personal statement opened with, “Years ago, I thought that I would have to wait until I become a successful professional in order to matter and do anything meaningful with my life . . . however I realized that I can make a difference by simply using the resources that I already have at my disposal.” From there I explained that I made the most of not only my prior jobs but also the things going on around me and, as a result, I developed a very rich life full of wonderfully loyal and meaningful relationships. I discussed how I have been able to make a difference in people’s lives without yet working as an attorney, and I focused on the plans that I had to “do good” once I earned my J.D. I used the Personal Statement as my opportunity to explain to the Admissions Committee that – at age 46 – my personality was solid and not likely to change. Even with the J.D. I am still the same person, and I will use my law degree and license to only continue what I started.”

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3. What was important to you in finding the right law school given your family ties, establishment in a given community, and financial realities?

Todd was searching for a school that had both a quality MBA program and a high-ranked law school. “I also wanted a location within a day’s drive of my hometown so I had the opportunity to go home for short breaks, etc. if I wanted to or felt the need to.”

4. What were pros/cons of being older/more experienced than some of your peers in law school?

The graduates mentioned the following as issues they faced:

• Not being used to using a laptop to take notes;
• Being the last to know about online resources such as http://www.outlinedepot.com.;
• The approach of arguing both sides rather than finding the right answer, especially for those with science backgrounds; and
• Getting used to being graded on a curve.

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The “Pros”:

• Being able to form meaningful relationships with faculty and staff;
• Work ethic already developed;
• Older students have lived through family, personal, and work issues that allow them to put the law school experience in perspective and not let it overwhelm them. “Many of us nontraditional students had the ability to roll with the punches of law school more easily because, regardless of what was going on in class, none of it was as difficult, costly, painful, or traumatic as other things that we had already survived. Indeed, most of us were just elated to be living out our dreams when the odds had been stacked against us, and our resiliency carried us through things that were insurmountable to some of our younger, less experienced classmates.” said one recent graduate.

5. What job prospects were enhanced because of your age/experience? What jobs were you less desirable for upon graduation because of your age/experience/financial situation?

Scott: “I’m not sure any job prospects (other than becoming self-employed) were enhanced…I certainly felt that the firm route, if that were attractive to an older student (which it wasn’t for me) was much more difficult. They focus on the career path to partner, and expect a certain dedication. I think they question the ability of an older student to commit themselves fully to that process.”

Susan tells the following story about how her work experience helped her enhance her clinical experience: “During law school my participation in the school’s Housing Clinic was definitely enhanced by years of experience that I had working at law firms (including a firm that specializes in Affordable Housing). I had no problem at all treating my Clinic clients as though they were law firm clients, and I did my absolute best for all 11 of them during my semester as a clinician. Some of the cases were not resolved within that first semester, so I volunteered to see the cases through to completion into the following semester. In my job as Office Manager of the Affordable Housing law firm where I worked in the five years before law school, I learned some really great lawyering skills from the attorneys with whom I worked. The most useful thing I learned was: “Leave the office and go out into the field, if necessary.” The founder of that law firm typically visited the housing projects where his clients lived and worked, and I often accompanied him. As a result of seeing first-hand what a difference our presence made in the lives of those tenants, I did not hesitate to go to the homes of my Housing Clinic clients in law school.”

Todd: “It’s tough having experience because I was used to middle management roles. After law school, with rare exception, all of the jobs are entry-level and you are not rewarded financially or responsibility-level wise for your past experience. It may definitely help you get the job opportunity in some cases, but you start at the same level and pay as your straight-through peers.”

However, it can work to your advantage in a smaller law firm. Susan has been invited into a law partnership by the attorney she worked for during her last year of law school. “He told me that he had never seen a new graduate with as much practical experience as I have, and I know that if I had not worked in law firms in the past, this partnership opportunity would have never happened for me.”

6. Were you able to meet your goals in terms of reasons to attend law school as an older applicant? Anything you know now that you wish you’d known before choosing to go to law school, or to your particular law school?

The graduates mentioned the following:

• There are numerous opportunities to write and be published, even for law students who are not named to their law school’s Law Review. Oftentimes articles can be submitted to the publications of various professional organizations or to the specialized Law Reviews that exist at other law schools.

• Get involved in the areas where they plan to live after law school because it will reward them in numerous ways. Things can be done on a limited basis, even long distance, and those activities will help the law students develop relationships that will be helpful to them once they graduate. “Not everything we do can or should be about generating income, and yet while engaged in those volunteer activities anything can happen. In my life, for example, my volunteerism led me to meet some wonderful attorneys whose paths I would have never crossed in any other way. By saying “YES” to volunteering locally I met attorneys who liked what they saw as I volunteered and who eventually hired me to do paid work that resulted in an invitation to join a law partnership,” says Susan.

• Read and learn black-letter law outlines before each semester. “Now that I am studying for the Bar Exam, I realize how helpful these Subject Outlines would have been if I had the chance to learn them before I took the classes in law school,” says Susan.

• “Often, a law school where you want to practice law can be the best option, even if it is lower-ranked and/or a regional school. The local connections are huge!” says Todd. If you do go out of area for school, your summer jobs are critical. Most firms hire directly from their summer programs and very few have entry level post-graduate opportunities if you did not summer with them. Summering with a “better/more respected” firm elsewhere than where you intend to practice is often not very helpful.

7. What advice would you give to someone in their late 20s-mid-40s who is considering applying to law school?

Look beyond the rankings when choosing a law school. Scott says he was aware of the pressure to go to the highest ranking school he was admitted to, however, for him “it was critical that I felt comfortable and accepted at whatever school I chose. That’s why [my wife and I] I visited a dozen schools. Several of them were eliminated almost immediately upon arrival – several funny stories there (about being mistaken for an applicant’s parents). I also needed to know I was going to be challenged intellectually. Michigan, which I didn’t think I would want to attend, increased its desirability immensely during our visit. I was accepted and treated as just another applicant – both by the school representatives and the other students. You always hear about the collegiality of schools. I think Michigan, which is certainly a very collegial school, was more comfortable for me because the students weren’t concerned with competing against me, they were interested in how I might be able to help them.”

Additional advice from the three recent graduates includes:

• Develop a niche within the field of law that coincides with your previous experience.

• Attend every training offered by the representatives from LexisNexis and Westlaw, and set up a “Legal Research Binder” full of the handouts and other materials so that you can consult it in the future. Even if the software changes in the future, the basic principles taught in those materials will make great reference materials to have on their office shelves. Additionally, if your law school offers classes in Advanced Legal Research or Advanced Legal Writing, definitely take those classes. “Most cases are won in the library, not in the courtroom,” offers Susan.

• If you are targeting a specific geographic area based on spouse employment or established community ties or family, this can limit your options after law school and make your job search more difficult. “My classmates who were open to a more diverse area had more/different opportunities,” says Todd.

• Scott also says it’s important to know exactly why you’re going to law school. “If it’s a financial decision, be careful if you’re dependent upon that firm job to make it all work. They’re competitive for the graduates in their mid-20s, and much more so for older students.”

• Embrace law school and everything it entails, good and bad, says Scott. I would tell people, “You know the movie where the old couple is sitting on the porch of the lake house reminiscing about the good old days? Well for you, these are those days. Enjoy it.”

Ann K. Levine is a law school admission consultant and owner of LawSchoolExpert.com. She is the author of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert (affiliate link) and The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers (affiliate link).

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