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Do you see a prejudice against people who attend law school later in life?

In short, yes, later-in-life pupils can sometimes feel a little out of place with the younger crowd. But they have a distinct advantage that a large part of the straight-through students don't--a bit more life in the mirror. That experience will assist from day one in law school. Professors will rely on and seek out those pupils to draw on that knowledge along with the based work ethic of the student. As soon as a résumé is reviewed by a law firm in the student, it will have assurance the graduate is prepared to add value to its customers and the firm and prepared beyond the scholarly world. Go forth and conquer, regardless of what period in life you decided to make your way into this honorable profession.

Did any courses prove particularly useful as you started practicing?

In addition to skills courses, any hands-on experience you can find--if it's functioning in a legal practice, part time in a small law firm, or clerking for a judge--can help in training. My two places, one in a small business and one in a large firm, gave me an opportunity to see depositions and court cases and, most of all, to understand what to expect at work.

Was there anything you wished you'd have done otherwise in law school that you didn't understand before you started to practice?

I wish I'd worked in a law firm, even for a semester. It is difficult to go from a salaried job to a low-paying law enforcement job. But I wish I had. It would have been nice to get some expertise after being admitted to the bar, since I opened my own practice shortly. Even things as simple as how to establish a client file, the ideal approach to charge, and how to assign work to employees would have been nice to learn beforehand rather than on the fly.

What do you like most about your project? Least?

I started out in the corporate and securities department of a large law firm, but left to start an immigration practice after four decades. I liked the firm and worked with a number of people, but the job wasn't interesting to me and not fulfilling. In fact, had I never moved outside to start an immigration clinic, I become instruction and would have gone back to school to pursue a PhD. As for what I enjoy about my job, here are a few things:

What is the most effective means to have work?

My law firm has been receptive to accommodating my requests for flex time and a reduced-hour schedule. A couple of proactive partners shifted my caseload to allow time at the workplace and with chances to work from home to me when I returned from my first leave. My firm accepted my proposition that was part-time when I returned from my pregnancy leave. In my family situation was different, I am confident a part-time schedule could have functioned for at least several decades.

Do you must push yourself to the ground the first few years of training to make it?

While the practice of law can make it hard to enroll in a course that meets at 6 pm every Thursday for six weeks, it does provide the flexibility to be outside the workplace when things come up--even during the middle of the work day--provided your job is finally getting done.