To wonder if 44 is too old to do a law conversion course

[YouHaveAnArse]

Got made redundant early this year from a job that was policy/regulatory based. Jobs in my field are few and far between, I'm finding, and those that use similar skills seem to require industry-specific experience or qualifications, so I'm wondering if it's worth looking at retraining in some way.

Obv there's a lot to think about in terms of whether I would undertake law conversion - which isn't really necessary to list out here! - but the main thing I'm thinking about and want advice on before considering it more than idly is: is it too late at 44? I'd be 45 by the time the course is done (assuming I do it this year), then there are further qualifications/experience needed before I go on to fully qualify which could be another year or two, then the need for post-qualfication experience before I can apply for the kind of roles that really interest me. I'm thinking about the difficulty of competing against grads literally half my age and that there's only so far I could take any career prospects if I were to be starting this late. (And this is all if I can afford to do it - I could maybe manage a full-time online course plus living expenses for a year thanks to redundancy package but beyond that a loan or job would be necessary.)

And, of course, who knows what AI will do when it comes to the availability of positions for those undertaking study or newly qualified...

Has anyone done this? Was it a good idea? Or worthwhile at this stage only if you've always had a strong interest in law rather than mainly seeing it as a way to increase potential employment opportunities?

IF you are financially ok to do the course coupled with the uncertainty of getting a training contract (could you go back to doing what you were doing before if you don’t get a TC?) and you have found out about the likely salary in that area of law and you are prepared for that then why can’t you do it? I’d go for it. Life if too short to have regrets.

I’m not a lawyer and have no useful knowledge- but most of the people answering seem to be talking about private law firms. The civil service employs lawyers, might there be opportunities for OP there? Maybe likely to be less ageist/more open to career changers?

I did the GDL and LPC in my late 30’s15 years ago. Worked in a relevant to law area at the time in the city. first degree was. 2.1. 4 A’s at A-level. Didn’t even get an interview for a training contract. Cost me £20k.
My advice is definitely not.

Not at all. You could have a good 20 years career in it!

My grandpa didn't become a barrister until 46 and he's now a judge!

What do you do now out of interest?

Have you looked at civil service roles? Especially with the compliance background?

A few law firms are already replacing junior roles with AI. A friend of mine applied to one and a big part of the telephone interview was asking her about her AI skills… They’d replaced a lot of the “menial” tasks with their own AI.

Also training contracts are like gold dust and if you wanted to go down the other route of uni you’d have to get a scholarship or self-fun, student finance don’t cover it.

No. Just don’t. It’s so competitive and you are already at a disadvantage.
have you considered some of the firms that just deal with compliance work. There are a few out there.

I agree that the civil service could be a good bet, though it could take a while to get to where you want to be - you may need to start lower

Definitely not too old, I finished my degree at 53. Not law admittedly, but led to promotion and better pay, though more stress and responsibility.

Solicitor here. This idea is insanity.

Your best timeline, if you complete a law conversion and immediately secure 2 years’ qualifying experience under your belt, is qualifying at 47/48.

Most law firms have an upper age limit to retire Partners, usually around 55. With all due respect, you are very unlikely to make significant career progress between qualifying and retirement age, even if retiring at 67, because once you’re over 55 a lot of firms will immediately see you as “too old” for partnership (obviously they don’t word it that way).

So you would also be in the strange, and quite lonely, position of being significantly older than everyone you train alongside, and then being the same age as, or even older than, your manager.

Private practice has a very hierarchical / deferential culture (one of the reasons I left, even in my 30s it’s very annoying having what feels like a parent-child dynamic in work). That dynamic will probably feel even more pronounced for you, given your age.

I echo others saying to look at compliance roles, whether in law firms or other industries.

Apologies if these comments sound in any way ageist, but age is at the crux of the issue here.

I’m a senior associate in a city firm. I am ‘old’ for my qualification level because I did come to it later in life in a sideways move after over a decade working in a different role in the industry that I now practice law in, which has stood me in good stead, but I was much younger than you are currently when I made the transition and it was pre AI becoming a genuine disrupter and threat to entry level roles. I’m sorry to say it but I don’t think it would be a sensible move. The route to qualification is long and extremely hard work. Law schools take on more students than ever realistically have a chance of getting a TC. The competition is fierce, the job is very demanding and the hours are brutal, and AI is genuinely reducing the entry level roles.

I was warned off doing a law conversion course 20 years ago by friends at the law firm I was temping at. They said then that there were no jobs, competition was fierce, they worked mad hours and I would be competing with graduates (I was 25). The ones I've stayed in touch with have all left law now. I imagine things have got a lot worse.

Unfortunately the industry I went into has similar problems, but at least I didn't spend a shed load of money doing more training.

Compulsory retirement ages are discriminatory. Same for for any provision, criterion or practice that effects a compulsory retirement age. I literally know no firm that does this. What kind of firms do you work in?

This is entirely normal for private partnerships / LLP in law, accountancy and consultancy.

I agree with everyone else saying don’t do it, OP.

This lady was 10 years younger but I did enjoy this story in the Times today, she became a lawyer and took her ex to court:

My husband hid his money. After a 23-year divorce, I’ve won £6m

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b1e53762-1d3f-4e93-a54b-df142377610c?shareToken=939b1303b7064f3b7c5feeb3a46c1d71

Just popping on to post this.

It's too late for me, save yourself.

I am not a law graduate, but I did work in hospitality as a student and again when my children were younger. I met a lot of law graduates working as bar tenders. Someone else mentioned this earlier and it did seem to be true. I think law is quite over saturated at entry level

I know some very bright legal grads who had real difficulty getting a TC. They eventually succeeded (after years of working in poorly paid temp/paralegal jobs) but it was a massive slog and once they got there, insane hours and stress. It worked out for them but the whole process would have taken years to get to a place where they were comfortable

so at your age (which is very close to my age) I’d say you’d be mad. Unless you think the law conversion alone could lead to significant career opportunities, which I doubt

I’ve been made redundant from two law firms in the past 10 years. The profession is saturated with paralegals and law graduates. Some firms prefer the paralegals so they can pay them less, to be fair some of them are just as good at the job. A lot of firms are also using AI to streamline their work processes. Unfortunately working in law is not as secure or well paid as it used to be but it depends which area you go into.

Yes, I’d say it is too old. You will be 48/49 by the time you qualify and law is gruelling at the best of times. I am a 52 year old senior partner in a top City firm and I have mostly loved my work. However, the last couple of years, since menopause hit, have been increasingly challenging and that’s despite being able to choose my hours and the work I take on. Being in that position as a junior lawyer would be very hard indeed.

You will be competing against much younger candidates for training contracts and it’s highly unlikely you will get a look in.

I’d suggest you have a look at law-adjacent jobs. Maybe something in the criminal justice system. Or apply to be a magistrate in your spare time.

This thread is shocking and depressing, not least as there are multiple occupational sectors where you'd be getting all the same answers (e.g. medicine, journalism, to name a couple that have come up recently). Are middle aged people basically fucked when it comes to retraining in anything now? Is everyone of practically any age fucked in fact? I want to ask what sectors are actually expanding and full of opportunity, but based on other threads I've read on here I suspect it will all be niche technical areas. What do people who aren't techy types get to do?

I came on to say it's never too late, OP, but it looks like I'd be talking out of my arse, so maybe don't listen to me.

Yeah this has been my reaction tbh. At 44 you have over 20 years left till legal retirement age, you’re basically only halfway through your working life. The idea that it’s too late to change careers seems crazy to me. Yes you maybe have less stamina for working all hours than a new twenty something grad but you have so much more to bring in knowledge and experience. I do wonder if some of these ageist firms are going to have to catch up with the reality that people are living and working longer.

Yep it seems young and middle age people alike are all fucked. So depressing

I don’t think anyone is saying you can’t retrain in your mid 40s! It’s that specifically, law, with 1000s of new graduates per year, high upfront cost for the course, under threat from AI - is massively competitive and not the greatest investment for the OP. There are many other areas where not all of the above applies.