Greetings all! I am considering law school and would appreciate your comments. I am 36f, will be 40 upon graduation of law school...I have had a mixed response to my possible options at graduation. Ultimately, I would like to have my own practice specializing in Land Use, Environmental, Real Estate and possibly corporate law. However, I would like the opportunity to experience BigLaw. Am I crazy? My kids are in high school, my son and I will graduate the same year.....so soon it will be just me. I am doing things a bit backwards, I had a family and now that they are almost adults I am looking to pursue my goals.... before I am too old to make a career change. My other issue is where to attend school. Unfortunately there is no top ranking law school in my area (the closest is UT, which I plan to apply). I also plan to apply to a few dream schools and a couple of local schools...does anyone know much about University of Houston? It has a good reputation here in Houston, but what about everywhere else??????

Sorry not much of a reputation outside Houston as far as I know, in Houston Rice's the deal.

UH is a tier one law school. And Rice doesn't even have a law school, get your facts right &#!$ brick.

Not crazy at all. If you feel law school is for you, you will love it and never regret the decision. Good luck, and I hope it all works out.

You will regret it. After graduation, big law firms will treat you no different than a 25 year old kid whose only job has been a summer at Starbucks. You will get frustrated and begin hating life before you know it. Don't waste your time or energy. Go to Medical School instead.

I disagree, not with the going to medical school idea (not a bad idea), but with being treated like a 25 year old. You will still have to jump through the hoops, but both partners and clients will treat you differently. A little gray hair brings credibility, even if you are just a first year. The big issue will be the debt load.

Big national law firms treat a 25 year old associate just like a 40 year old associate if you are in the same associate class year . The big firms don't know any other way to operate - nor do they care to operate in a different manner (financially, they don't need to).

Anyone who says differently has obviously have never worked at an elite law firm. Now, if you want to go to a small firm, great, but you won't get paid any money.

I agree with "Bad Idea" - go to medical school. Law is a waste of time.

Med school? If you want an even higher debt load, longer time in school. And this is not including your multi-year internship and residency, during which time you'll work 90-100 hours a week and make very little. And then if you're any sort of specialist, you'll face another several years of a fellowship working under an experienced practitioner. So by the time you're 60 you'd be able to go it alone in your medical practice, and have a solid 5 years before you retire.

Victims of a self-serving system that condemns you to servitude until an opportunity to become the slavemaster arises?