work experience Forum

[cbq]

how much weight does this have in an application? i am a non-traditional applicant. 23 yrs experience.

[eliekedourie]

For a one year paralegal? A little.

For you? Probably quite a bit presuming that your LSAT and GPA are competitive. You'll also want to show management experience and a sterling professional record.

[tourdeforcex]

well for a non-traditional... it's really hard to say generally b/c it's usually case by case.

and 23 years is very different

if your WE is definitively law related and respectable, it will be a huge plus but i don't think it can outweight LSAT or GPA

maybe 10% at a max? complete opinion, might be completely wrong

[cbq]

thank you for the responses. the WE has been engineering (aerospace) and business ownership (construction). 120 employees. nope not a paralegal. sorry. my UG was below 3.0 and i don't know where my lsat is going to come in.. looking at Stetson in florida... will retake lsat in feb if the scores are not good..

[merichard87]

Why Stetson?

[cbq]

i live in florida and have a family that i don't want to move.

[nygrrrl]

I think it very much depends on where you're applying and how that WE fits in with the rest of your application (including GPA/LSAT). Depending on where you apply, it could well outweigh your GPA (which schools will tend to discount, knowing that it's over 20 years old!)

I was a similar nontrad candidate with nearly 20 years of WE; in my case, it mattered a great deal (and my job was almost completely NOT law-related.) Feel free to PM me if you have questions and best of luck to you!