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Okay, so I’ve read the FAQ, and I understand all the reasons I don’t want to go to law school, and I have a good understanding that ranking is everything, but I’m old and still feel the need to explore this thing. So, my question is this, if I plan to be dead long before my student loans are paid off, and I don’t want to be one of those lawyers who works at a high-power firm making tons of money, do I pick a school with the top rank for the type of law I want to practice or do I still need to go for the top overall rank? IE: Vermont is #1 for environmental law but 130th overall, Madison is #50 overall (and my first pick) but doesn’t have an environmental law specialization, would it be better to go to Vermont or Madison if, shocker, I get the opportunity to actually pick? Madison is my first pick because I live in WI, and I know people who work at the type of non-profit that I want to work at, but it’s really competitive and I’m not sure I will be able to beat out all the 20 somethings just finishing school with better GPA’s than mine. But, I have been told that 30 years of work experience will give me a bit of a boost when it comes to hiring.
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May 5, 2017 18:45
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:04 |
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No one cares about program rankings. Go to a t14 if you got in, otherwise, go where it's cheapest and where you will have opportunities - thus go to UW. You're an old, the law school hiring process is really for big law anyway, you don't want to do that at your age anyway. So go where your network is and have a good time!
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May 6, 2017 16:50
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An age 50-something lurker on a dead gay message board whose first and only post in eight years is accidentally a thread. A shameful, yet awesome lurker. As Sab says, none of the rankings except the overall one matter at all. In your case, I'll go one step further and say that the overall ranking may not matter much either. If you can't live without a JD for whatever godforsaken reason, go to the highest ranked school that lets you in for free. Graduating at 55-60 with student loans and then not getting hired is a disaster much worse than a run of the mill massive bill is at 30, and dying while owing money is not nearly the worst thing that could happen; the lender can and will easily get your Social Security garnished and then you get to be a 70 year old eating cat food. The chaser is that I would be very wary at best of anything anyone who isn't directly responsible for hiring people says about job prospects for a newly minted 60 year old lawyer. Are your friends able to guarantee you a job? Are you the type of person capable of opening a solo practice while knowing nothing about what you're doing for the first couple of years? If neither of these things are true please don't go to law school.
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May 6, 2017 22:54
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how does PAYE work with social security? I'm actually curious about this because it could be hilarious
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May 8, 2017 18:11
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Mandatory reading for those considering law school: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=192753
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May 9, 2017 18:29
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Where you're planning to work/live makes a big difference as well. If you're thinking of staying in Wisconsin, absolutely go UW. You don't have to take the bar then, and you'll be a step ahead in interviews/networking.
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May 22, 2017 01:01
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Jesus Christ, why? Don't do it that's a terrible idea. Hoping to get a job at an environmental law non profit is the type of idiotic dream someone who is twenty and an idiot has while in college. Those jobs go to Harvard grads and people who have masters in horticulture or whatever, not jobless sixty year old dudes who demonstrate incredibly poor judgment and an inability to hold down a normal job. "Environmental Law" doesn't exist in the real world except maybe to review contracts between Generic Oil Corporation and Montana to help the client avoid liability for oil spills. And that's if you are super lucky. Also what do you think a lawyer gets paid at entry level in Wisconsin or Vermont is whatever backwoods yokel hovel you want to live in? I hope you have a sizeable retirement, and assets to keep you afloat for the next six or seven years, because you aren't making money until then. If you read the thread like you are supposed to you would realize that working for ten dollars an hour at the local Starbucks instead of burning three years not working and accruing debt is the way better choice financially. And I say better because most successful lawyers would rather make tacos or coffee for a living. If you have thirty years experience then you should have much, much better choices than going to loving law school. Instead of hoping for the one in ten thousand chance of getting a poo poo paying lawyer job at some non profit, work a normal job and go volunteer at the zoo. Also are you married? Because you won't be by the end of law school. Jesus Christ, this is a terrible idea.
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May 22, 2017 13:26
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Unless this is meant to be a scam to bridge your last job into retirement by running up massive student loans and workforce retraining grants, the post above me is good. If it is a scam to get to 62 then bravo. I keep telling my dad to use his Vietnam school money to go to some 20 year degree program in bar tending.
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May 22, 2017 14:33
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:04 |
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42 y/o lawyer posting here. (I'm not a second career attorney, though. I went straight from college to law school.) I have some experience with "environmental law" in that I've helped defend a Clean Water Act lawsuit. 1. Unless you plan to take a bar exam and practice law for a living. DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL. If you want to work at a non-profit, go work for a non-profit. Unless you absolutely have to have a law degree to work for this non-profit DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL. 2. If you insist on going to law school (reconsider) go to the state law school in the state where you want to practice (Wisconsin in your case). You'll develop a network of contacts, you'll have something to talk about with other lawyers in the state, and you won't pay private tuition. 2a. If your circumstances were different, I'd say go to a T14 School if you can get in, but you aren't interested in Biglaw, and you'd need Biglaw money to pay T14 student loan debt. 3. Overall ranking is the only ranking that anybody really gives a poo poo about, and going to a well-recognized regional school is probably better than going to a somewhat higher-ranked school from outside your area. CAVEAT: Vermont is supposed to be good for environmental law, and I've seen two real live practicing attorneys with degrees from Vermont. They were filing plaintiff's suits under the CWA, which is as close to "Environmental Law" as you'll get, and I live a long way from Vermont. COUNTER CAVEAT: Both of these lawyers were women in their late 20's. Not old dudes.
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May 23, 2017 20:58
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