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From There to Here in a NutshellWhy
I Want to Be a Lawyer Why
Online Law School? Isn't Law School Really
Hard? Don't You Have to Be Really Smart?
Karen's
New Blog - "Online Law School Student Blog" (Will open a new window)
Karen's Original
Online Law School Diary (Beginnings of a Blog)
From
There to Here in a Nutshell Without going into
all of the gory details... I found myself bankrupt in the
fall of the year 2000, without husbands, and with kids grown and
gone. After swimming around in a
"half-empty glass attitude," trying to figure out what to do
with my life, I looked into going back to college. Then I learned
that really broke people in the U.S. qualify for the maximum financial
aid! And the glass started looking half-full. With
no more excuses and--quite literally--nothing to lose, I enrolled as a
freshman in college at age 44 in January 2001. After lots
of bad counseling advice, and struggling to
make ends meet, financial aid nightmares, and employers who one day say
they'll work with your class schedule and the next change their mind...I
actually found myself walking to the music of "Pomp and
Circumstance" in a funny-looking blue outfit with a square hat with
a tassel on it, May 30, 2003, a rolled-up fake diploma in my hand, and a
smile as big as Texas. A few weeks later, a real-life Associate in
Arts degree with my name on it, arrived in the mail. I
had done it. I had really done it! Wow. Back
to Top
Why I Want
to Be a Lawyer  1)
Lawyers make more money than secretaries.
2) Lawyers get
lots more respect. 3) A law degree is a great credential
for a writer and speaker, which I also plan on pursuing. 4)
I don't expect to be able to retire, and I'd rather spend my
"golden years" as a lawyer than a Wal-Mart greeter. 5)
I've always actually enjoyed researching the law. 6) I
can't wait to help a client kick some shyster's butt--with
"knowledge" of the law. Knowledge truly is a powerful
thing. My dream is to make more money working
less hours. And I want to work for myself. If it turns out I
don't make more money, and end up working more hours--the respect I will
have earned through education will still be worth it. Even if it's
just within my own mind, family and friends. I also want
to have the freedom to spend as much time as possible with my
grandchildren, when they arrive. My plan is to have a small
practice, with regular business hours, where my grandkids will be
welcome. I may simply keep a small office in my home. I'm
not sure which area of the law I will land in. Right now I'm
interested in both elder law and immigration law. I would
also like to write and give motivational speeches to help people
struggling with going to college. Looks like I'm going to
have to live a long time... Back to Top
Why Distance
Law School? 1) It's cheaper. My
tuition is approx. $2,000/year x 4 years = $8,000.
One of the cheapest "big boy" law schools (American Bar
Association accredited) for California residents, is UC Davis's law
school, at about $17,200/year as of fall 2003. $17,200 x 3 years =
$51,600. Plus I
save the cost of a full year of undergraduate work (see below). 2)
It will save me a year's time. ABA law schools require a
bachelor's degree (4 years) plus 3 years of law school = 7
years. My unaccredited California law school (which follows
California State Bar rules), only requires 60 college units equivalent
to the first 2 years of a bachelor's degree (or a non-tech A.A. degree)
plus 4 years of distance college (there are also in-class night
schools). Total = 6 years. 3)
I plan on practicing in California. Going to a
non-ABA-approved law school means that I will only be able to definitely
practice law in California. Some states will allow me to practice
law there with varying restrictions, and many won't. But, I plan
on staying in California, so this is not a problem for me. 4)
Distance law school doesn't waste my study time. To
become a lawyer in California, regardless of which educational route a
law student has taken, each law student must pass the California State
Bar Exam to practice law in California. Most
law schools teach by studying case law, and students spend most of their
time learning and memorizing cases. But, the bar exam does not
require knowledge of cases. To pass the bar exam, students must be
able to spot issues (potential legal problems/arguments) in a
hypothetical situation, recite the applicable laws/rules, and discuss
the possible arguments and outcomes of each side of the
"case." The
distance law school I am attending does not require me to memorize
cases, but rather learn the principles of law, rules of the courts,
etc. Studying cases is encouraged, but only as a tool to learn the
above. 5)
I didn't have to take the dreaded LSAT. To get into a big
boy law school, I would have had to take the Law School Admissions
Test. The questions are timed and are mostly logic-type
questions. These tests have nothing to do with law, but they
supposedly test abilities which are desirable in a lawyer. A good
score on this test is imperative to be admitted to big boy law schools.  I
am terrible at math and at logic questions. These logic questions
are akin to mathematical word problems from hell. For instance,
questions listing names of people sitting in an airplane, but Bob only
has women around him, and Mary only has women in front and back of her,
and...so who is George sitting next to? And you have about 30
seconds for each question. Ack.
I
will have to take the First Year Law Student Exam (FYLSE) at the end of
my first year, which only distance/night law school students have to
take. But, it is only about the subjects I will have studied in my
first year of law school. In other words, I can actually study
for this test. I'm
very good at learning a subject and applying principles. I'm just
really terrible at logic problems. So, I'm not afraid of the FYLSE
(also referred to as the Baby Bar because it is formatted much like the
actual bar exam). In fact, I will get the double benefit of having
already had a bar-exam-like experience, before I take the actual bar
exam after my fourth year. 6)
I can attend anywhere, anytime. I don't have to attend
regular class sessions. I do have access to scheduled chat
sessions with my fellow students and our professor. But, I don't
have to attend. And I have the freedom to move, and to work any
shift. I can even go on vacation on a whim anytime (if I
could afford to, ha ha!) Wherever I go, my law school can go with
me. In today's world, I felt I had a better chance of succeeding
with this flexibility. 7) I don't need a
fancy law degree. I am not planning a law career which would
require a prestigious law degree.
Back to Top
Isn't Law School Really
Hard? Don't You Have to Be Really Smart?
I don't think so. A big boy law school
would be hard for me, because I don't think I would be good at
memorizing cases and dates and reciting them off the top of my
head. So, I'd probably look like a complete idiot in the
classroom. But, I don't have to do that at my distance law school. If
I had to attend one of those schools, I'd start from the
back and work my way forward. In other words, how do I pass the
class? Just by passing tests? If so, I'd find out how the
tests were structured and focus on that. If looking like an idiot
in class doesn't affect my passing the class, who cares? I'd spend
all of my energy on learning how to pass that test. Does
this mean I won't be a good lawyer? It means I won't practice law
as a trial lawyer, because I'm not fast on my feet. But, I'm very
thorough in my research, and I'm a tough negotiator and advocate.
I plan on winning cases outside of a courtroom. If I'm involved in
something that turns out to need a great trial lawyer, I'll find one. I
do think that people who like definite answers would really hate law
school--and being a lawyer. If you're the type of person who does
badly on multiple-choice problems because you can find a good
"case" for each possible answer (like me), you're probably a
great candidate for law school! There are no definite
answers. You may miss an issue in a question, or recite the wrong
law, that type of thing. But there are no definite right or wrong
answers, just good arguments. Your answers need to point out all
the reasonable, potential arguments either side may come up with, the
actual rules that apply to those arguments, and what the courts are
likely to decide. In the real life of lawyering, going to court is
always a 50-50 gamble. If you can handle this
ambiguity, even enjoy it, and you are clever (not necessarily
brilliant), and a dedicated student, I don't see why you couldn't
succeed in law school. 
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