Law school is a scary place for any new student. For an older (“non-traditional”) student, it can be intimidating as well as being ill-designed for the needs of an older, second-career student with children, mortgages, and the like. This book compiles advice from the author, lawyer-editors, and dozens of current and former law students, on such matters as dealing with families and children, the LSAT and GPAs for the older student, the law school application process and law school rankings for non-traditional students, paying for law school, surviving first year and non-academic hurdles, and the occasional skeleton in the non-traditional closet.

Using a format that resembles FAQs, the book is an easy read no matter which chapter you open up to. What appreciated about this book compared to some other know-it-all law school guides was its willingness to let the reader hear varying viewpoints on topics ranging from how to pick a school, how to maintain your sanity (and humanity), to how to steer towards a job you’ll like. The book doesn’t approach the subject as if you will be screwed if you don’t take its advice; it’s more a gathering of intelligent, thoughtful comments from a large number of people who have presumably made it through to the other side of law school.

The first half of this nearly 300 page manual is devoted to “Getting In”, the logistical and emotional challenges facing those who choose to go back to school after a period of time in the real world. This is very valuable information discussed honestly and peppered with dozens upon dozens of great comments from other non-trad law students like studying for the LSATs, how to figure out the best school for you, what do rankings really mean, scholarships, financial aid and more.

The next hundred pages is devoted to all the trials and tribulations of the first Year, followed by the second Year and beyond covering everything from housing to dating to wanting to quit, moot court, law review, managing the confusion, failing exams, on campus interviews to whether or not to get a rolling book bag and looking ‘uncool’ but saving your back.

If you’re a traditional student, the book is still so chock-full of good stuff, that you would do well to read it before entering law school. (If you’ve already started school, it’s never too late, and the book will help you regardless). Later in Life Lawyers is probably most beneficial because it addresses all students, and especially those students who didn’t make it to the top 10% of their class, didn’t make law review or the moot court board. There are some helpful tips and suggestions on how to deal with these issues while moving forward with a career as a lawyer.

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