do people age 25+ feel out of place at law school? Forum

[revolution724]

I'm 27, and I don't feel out of place.

+1. I dont feel out of place, but I do feel like not dorming causes more of the "out of place" feeling than age. I talk to people in class but havent really developed any actual friendships because Im a commuter. I also dont drink or go to bars, so I doubt it would have been much different even if I did dorm, but atleast Id get time to connect with people outside or class.

I also feel like drinking takes up the majority of social activities in law school..and I dont know if that changes with age haha

I have to admit, I was pretty stunned at how much drinking there is. Agreed that commuting takes a bite out of the social life.

[ResolutePear]

I'm 27, and I don't feel out of place.

+1. I dont feel out of place, but I do feel like not dorming causes more of the "out of place" feeling than age. I talk to people in class but havent really developed any actual friendships because Im a commuter. I also dont drink or go to bars, so I doubt it would have been much different even if I did dorm, but atleast Id get time to connect with people outside or class.

I also feel like drinking takes up the majority of social activities in law school..and I dont know if that changes with age haha

I have to admit, I was pretty stunned at how much drinking there is. Agreed that commuting takes a bite out of the social life.

Pre-gaming for legal career.

[revolution724]

Pre-gaming for legal career.

Possibly, but there's that PI hippie's dilemma again: not too many bottles & models when you make $40k. Oh well.

[ResolutePear]

Pre-gaming for legal career.

Possibly, but there's that PI hippie's dilemma again: not too many bottles & models when you make $40k. Oh well.

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

[revolution724]

Pre-gaming for legal career.

Possibly, but there's that PI hippie's dilemma again: not too many bottles & models when you make $40k. Oh well.

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

--LinkRemoved--

I dunno about your first statement, there.

As for the second, I'm far enough past 30 either to take mild offense or decline to comment due to the risk of self-incrimination.

[ResolutePear]

Pre-gaming for legal career.

Possibly, but there's that PI hippie's dilemma again: not too many bottles & models when you make $40k. Oh well.

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

--LinkRemoved--

I dunno about your first statement, there.

As for the second, I'm far enough past 30 either to take mild offense or decline to comment due to the risk of self-incrimination.

60's the new 40!

[revolution724]

60's the new 40!

Another crack like that and I'll smack you with my cane.

[kalvano]

There is a lot of focus on drinking, but I chalk that up to being around a bunch of people who are around 22-24 and haven't yet figured out that there is more to life than drinking.

[hijodehombre]

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

nice one, Pear, the only thing better than lawyer jokes is unwarranted shots at PI

[ResolutePear]

60's the new 40!

Another crack like that and I'll smack you with my cane.

Down with public pensions!!

*runs*

[revolution724]

60's the new 40!

Another crack like that and I'll smack you with my cane.

Down with public pensions!!

*runs*

When I starve to death, I'll come back as a ghost and haunt you.

[ResolutePear]

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

nice one, Pear, the only thing better than lawyer jokes is unwarranted shots at PI

I honestly didn't mean it to be a crack. It's just that from what I've heard... PI tends to have less stress and more freedom - it'd fit somebody who already has their retirement set but still want something to do routinely.

But hey, if people want to go into PI from the get go, then all the more power.

[ResolutePear]

60's the new 40!

Another crack like that and I'll smack you with my cane.

Down with public pensions!!

*runs*

When I starve to death, I'll come back as a ghost and haunt you.

I'll make sure I have casper cookies baked for you.

Edit: Oh, and none of the heart grabbing crap. I don't want to die until I also starve to death.

[revolution724]

There is a lot of focus on drinking, but I chalk that up to being around a bunch of people who are around 22-24 and haven't yet figured out that there is more to life than drinking.

I would agree with this if it wasn't everyone, whether they're 21 or 35. What ResolutePear said in fact rings true, or at least plausible - lawyers have about double the rate of alcoholism as the general population, a few different sources on Google tell me.

I mean, I'm not saying that from some position of abstaining piety. I enjoy a little alcohol on the weekends and don't have a problem with going to a bar or drinking at a party. It's just a strikingly higher rate of consumption than I saw among any circles with which I mingled before law school.

[revolution724]

I honestly didn't mean it to be a crack. It's just that from what I've heard... PI tends to have less stress and more freedom - it'd fit somebody who already has their retirement set but still want something to do routinely.

But hey, if people want to go into PI from the get go, then all the more power.

It depends on the PI setting. I've seen a more relaxed office and an office in which people easily work as hard and as many hours as they would in a firm, at a fraction of the pay. Some places probably do offer more in the way of work/life balance, but PI's not uniformly or even usually less work or less stress than private practice. Actually, the work may be much more stressful because of interactions with huge bureaucracies like welfare and public housing agencies, clients who endure a great many external stressors that interfere with their ability to participate in litigating their cases, and emotionally difficult subject matter. I work with low-income domestic violence victims. It takes a bit more than just wanting something to do while cashing in a retirement account to draw up a petition for an order of protection detailing how somebody's husband raped her with their two year old on the bed.

But joking about my cane aside, I (am not that old and) have been PI-oriented since I was in undergrad; law is just another approach to a career-long theme, and I would say the other people in the public interest program at my school are probably a little older than the average student but not really middle-aged or second-careerists (unless that first career was also in something social justice-related). The PI lawyers I've known have included a mix of people who've come from private practice and career-long public interest attorneys. Some seem to have been looking for a change of pace from a previous corporate-related career, but the latter's more common than you're implying here.

[johnnyutah]

There is a lot of focus on drinking, but I chalk that up to being around a bunch of people who are around 22-24 and haven't yet figured out that there is more to life than drinking.

As a 28 year old, I think that the main issue with the drinking is that the kids haven't learned to do it right. Drinking to excess is great, but for God's sake, moderate your volume, keep yourself upright, and stop telling stories about the time you had sex with a French guy during your study abroad in Paris.

[ResolutePear]

I honestly didn't mean it to be a crack. It's just that from what I've heard... PI tends to have less stress and more freedom - it'd fit somebody who already has their retirement set but still want something to do routinely.

But hey, if people want to go into PI from the get go, then all the more power.

It depends on the PI setting. I've seen a more relaxed office and an office in which people easily work as hard and as many hours as they would in a firm, at a fraction of the pay. Some places probably do offer more in the way of work/life balance, but PI's not uniformly or even usually less work or less stress than private practice. Actually, the work may be much more stressful because of interactions with huge bureaucracies like welfare and public housing agencies, clients who endure a great many external stressors that interfere with their ability to participate in litigating their cases, and emotionally difficult subject matter. I work with low-income domestic violence victims. It takes a bit more than just wanting something to do while cashing in a retirement account to draw up a petition for an order of protection detailing how somebody's husband raped her with their two year old on the bed.

But joking about my cane aside, I (am not that old and) have been PI-oriented since I was in undergrad; law is just another approach to a career-long theme, and I would say the other people in the public interest program at my school are probably a little older than the average student but not really middle-aged or second-careerists (unless that first career was also in something social justice-related). The PI lawyers I've known have included a mix of people who've come from private practice and career-long public interest attorneys. Some seem to have been looking for a change of pace from a previous corporate-related career, but the latter's more common than you're implying here.

Very insightful. Thanks.

[mpasi]

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

nice one, Pear, the only thing better than lawyer jokes is unwarranted shots at PI

I honestly didn't mean it to be a crack. It's just that from what I've heard... PI tends to have less stress and more freedom - it'd fit somebody who already has their retirement set but still want something to do routinely.

But hey, if people want to go into PI from the get go, then all the more power.

I say I want to do PI, but I keep seeing these Range Rovers all over the place and question my decision to avoid being a corporate shill every single time. Helping people doesn't come with Range Rover money.

[Holly Golightly]

I think 25 is prob the average age at NU.

[ResolutePear]

Models and bottles aren't environmentally friendly.

Seriously - I've always thought PI as one of those things lawyers do when you hit your mid-life crisis and don't feel like buying a corvette.

nice one, Pear, the only thing better than lawyer jokes is unwarranted shots at PI

I honestly didn't mean it to be a crack. It's just that from what I've heard... PI tends to have less stress and more freedom - it'd fit somebody who already has their retirement set but still want something to do routinely.

But hey, if people want to go into PI from the get go, then all the more power.

I say I want to do PI, but I keep seeing these Range Rovers all over the place and question my decision to avoid being a corporate shill.

All I care about is climbing the ladder and if I have to step on people's backs to get there - then so be it.

I'll do some PI work when I'm seasoned and can afford the luxury of not waiting for the next paycheck... or be a judge... Look - the one thing to take away from this is: everybody's out for themselves. Even the drunk on your mainstreet's corner - he's eying your pocket change.

[ResolutePear]

I think 25 is prob the average age at NU.

Isn't NU pro-work experience?

In fact, there's a thread going around that they've started accepting the GMAT in lieu of LSAT. They sure live on the edge.

[2ofspades]

at RP

[ResolutePear]

at RP

Where's my newspaper?

[Holly Golightly]

I think 25 is prob the average age at NU.

Isn't NU pro-work experience?

In fact, there's a thread going around that they've started accepting the GMAT in lieu of LSAT. They sure live on the edge.

Yes. And our radical dean is leaving us for the New School.

[revolution724]

I say I want to do PI, but I keep seeing these Range Rovers all over the place and question my decision to avoid being a corporate shill every single time. Helping people doesn't come with Range Rover money.

Yeah, it doesn't. I suspect that if you're missing the money already, it might not be the right course for you. Firms do let you do some pro bono work, fwiw.

I don't want expensive things like Range Rovers or children or stab-free apartments. It's all good.