Will age be a factor in getting a good (high-paying) job?

[luckylady]

Hello,

I plan on taking the June LSAT and applying to Boston-area schools for '09 (BC would be my top choice). I will also be almost 40 when I graduate. I have a family, and have been a stay-home mother for a long time. Being able to earn a good living is definitely important. My concern is, even if I graduate from a good school with very good grades, will I be at a huge disadvantage because I'm older than the average graduate? Will I most likely not be able to get into a top firm?

Thanks for any insight!

[vjm]

tag

[J.A.A.N.]

You might post this on the AskAdmissionsConsultants thread.

This is a good question, I have seen in industry period that employers are sometimes hesitant to hire people who have been out of the work force for a long period of time. That said, in the case of traditional LS students/grads, law firms may be used to hiring people who were never really part of the work force to begin with. ?

[Cabra]

good school + good grades = probably not a problem

this site: http://ms-jd.org/
might be of interest to you--you might want to contact them with your questions.
 

[J.A.A.N.]

good school + good grades = probably not a problem

this site: http://ms-jd.org/
might be of interest to you--you might want to contact them with your questions.
 

cool, I'm going to save that link as well. Thanks!!

[TRad]

FWIW.  one of my mentors is a senior partner at a Biglaw firm.  When we last chatted, he told me that firms will be very interested in hiring me because I'm not going to leave to raise children or want the "mommy track."   (I'll be 40 this fall; 43 when I graduate with my JD; my kids are now 17 and 10).

The conventional wisdom among his partners was that many of the women coming out of LS were highly talented and while they loved hiring them, they also feared losing them a few years later when they leave or reduce their schedule.  The fact that this would not be an issue with me is a huge bonus .... all of the talent, none of the risk.

(also goes to show how family-UNfriendly law still is)   

[vjm]

FWIW.  one of my mentors is a senior partner at a Biglaw firm.  When we last chatted, he told me that firms will be very interested in hiring me because I'm not going to leave to raise children or want the "mommy track."   (I'll be 40 this fall; 43 when I graduate with my JD; my kids are now 17 and 10).

The conventional wisdom among his partners was that many of the women coming out of LS were highly talented and while they loved hiring them, they also feared losing them a few years later when they leave or reduce their schedule.  The fact that this would not be an issue with me is a huge bonus .... all of the talent, none of the risk.

(also goes to show how family-UNfriendly law still is)   

I've actually founds this to be true in every single industry i have ever worked in. Of course, they never assume the men might leave or reduce their schedule.

[Remedialone]

I have some of the same concerns about age so I understand exactly where you are coming from.  I will be 33 by the time I graduate LS maybe even 34 if I cannot start in the fall and have to push it off until the Spring Semester.  You see all of these pictures of SA's and they all look like they are 24-28 years old.  A 5 or 10 year age difference (or more) may not seem like much but I think all of the Non-Trads worry at least to some degree about it.

[MrMediaguy]

I'm interested in any thoughts on job prospects for someone who would be 50 (but could pass for 45 ) when graduating LS. Guess the answer depends in part on what I'd want to do, but I don't have a great answer to that.

I'm pretty sure that some degree of age discrimination does exist, inasmuch as firms, big or small, aren't really falling over themselves to hire folks of that vintage - for obvious reasons, including questions about longevity and health, etc. And, from the standpoint of a purely business decision, I can't say I blame them.

   

[vjm]

I think there is also the mentality among firms of "Older graduates won't be tricked into 80 hour weeks for a few years before being pushed off the partner track".