Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35 Forum

(Please Ask Questions and Answer Questions)
Post Reply
lawapplicant2017

New
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue May 17, 2016 8:06 am

Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by lawapplicant2017 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:02 pm

When I apply to law school, I will have a 2.75 LSAC gpa/178 LSAT/ 1 year of work experience post grad.

If you wind up at a Top 14 Law school, and have a great 1st year ranking (5 percent) and are competitive with your younger and older peers, can you still make big law like a 25 year old, if you are mid-30s?

If you have been in undergrad a long time due to health problems, but still have experience, will that and age preclude you from big law?

Oh, and I wish to practice in NYC

User avatar
UVA2B

Gold
Posts: 3570
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 10:48 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by UVA2B » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:21 pm

Being 35 won't bar you from getting NYC big law if you have the credentials. You might be asked about it in interviews, but that's just an opportunity to spin it in your favor.

To add, you absolutely do not need to be top 5% at a T14 to get NYC big law. Be median and you should be just fine.

User avatar
Johann

Diamond
Posts: 19704
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 4:25 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by Johann » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:26 pm

How do you have 1 year of work experience but will be 35 at graduation? That will be a concern but not necessarily keep you out.

lawapplicant2017

New
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue May 17, 2016 8:06 am

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by lawapplicant2017 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:29 pm

Hi, thanks for the replies. really appreciate it. Oh, the 1 year of experience is what I was referring to as experience after college. I have more years of experience than that, but all the others have been before and in college. Just to clarify

User avatar
rpupkin

Platinum
Posts: 5653
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:32 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by rpupkin » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:30 pm

Johann wrote:How do you have 1 year of work experience but will be 35 at graduation? That will be a concern but not necessarily keep you out.
I understood OP to mean that he or she had one year of work experience post-undergrad (which means he or she went to undergrad at an older age).

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
OtterLaw

Silver
Posts: 621
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 3:50 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by OtterLaw » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:32 pm

I'll be 35 when I start work in a firm and it was absolutely not a problem during OCI and callbacks. If anything, people appreciate that I'm a bit more mature and have more work/life experience.

Hutz_and_Goodman

Gold
Posts: 1650
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:42 am

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by Hutz_and_Goodman » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:31 pm

Nope.

IExistedOnceBefore

Bronze
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 05, 2017 8:23 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by IExistedOnceBefore » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:40 pm

UVA2B wrote:Being 35 won't bar you from getting NYC big law if you have the credentials. You might be asked about it in interviews, but that's just an opportunity to spin it in your favor.

To add, you absolutely do not need to be top 5% at a T14 to get NYC big law. Be median and you should be just fine.

You will not be asked about age in interviews. To much risk for discrimination. OP will likely be asked about prior work experience and history in a way to ferret out just exactly how old he is, but no one will be brazen.

In fact, I'd say it'll help a lot if you graduate undergrad later in life, it'll make you appear younger. But no, it won't preclude you from biglaw.

User avatar
UVA2B

Gold
Posts: 3570
Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 10:48 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by UVA2B » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:46 pm

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:
UVA2B wrote:Being 35 won't bar you from getting NYC big law if you have the credentials. You might be asked about it in interviews, but that's just an opportunity to spin it in your favor.

To add, you absolutely do not need to be top 5% at a T14 to get NYC big law. Be median and you should be just fine.

You will not be asked about age in interviews. To much risk for discrimination. OP will likely be asked about prior work experience and history in a way to ferret out just exactly how old he is, but no one will be brazen.

In fact, I'd say it'll help a lot if you graduate undergrad later in life, it'll make you appear younger. But no, it won't preclude you from biglaw.
You're right that there wouldn't be a direct question about age, but I'm a fellow non-traditional older student and I was asked about my experience in law school being older, being at a different place in life, etc. I'm not saying it'll always come up, but some might ask about it.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


User avatar
yyyuppp

Bronze
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 8:52 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by yyyuppp » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:51 pm

Won't hurt . Know of a 32 year old 2l at t13 with multiple offers in NYC v5-15. Not stellar work experience either

vonrus1

New
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 10:59 am

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by vonrus1 » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:29 am

I asked almost this exact thing in the Clerks thread. Good to know there are more of us out there.

akane89

New
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2015 12:23 pm

Re: Are you precluded from BigLaw if you will be 35

Post by akane89 » Fri Sep 29, 2017 12:33 am

Dude r u kinding, most wish we were ur age except for the salary ezpecrany

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Post Reply

Return to “Ask a Law Student”