Are you ever too old to train as a lawyer?

Intersectionality

Are you ever too old to train as a lawyer?

While there are no shortage of excellent schemes to encourage women who have left law to return to the profession mid-career, there seems little support for women who want to train as a lawyer later in life.

I many moons ago, having taken a circuitous route which involved a round the world trip and a Master’s Degree. Thirty-two at the time seemed ancient when compared with my colleagues from school and university who mostly had qualified by their late twenties.

However, having recently finished Kate Kelloway’s inspiring book Re-education, about giving up a well-paid job as a journalist at the FT to retrain as a secondary school teacher in her late fifties, I wondered whether more women were considering retraining as a lawyer later in life.

The most recent statistics from the Law Society show the average age for men to qualify is 30 and 29.5 year for women. There were 105 women who qualified at age 40-44, 59 women who qualified in the 45 to 49 age range, 35 in the age range 50 to 54 and just 8 brave souls who qualified aged 55 or over.

While there are no shortage of excellent schemes to encourage women who have left law to return to the profession mid-career, there seems little support for women who want to train as a lawyer later in life. The Law Society run a wellestablished course for those who have had a career break (www.lawsociety. org) and Reignite Academy also run a dedicated programme to help women returners (reigniteacademy.co.uk).

Nikki Alderson, a corporate and executive coach who works specifically with women lawyers (nikkialdersoncoaching.com) says: “I genuinely believe that age should never be a bar but women 40+ may feel less attracted to the law unless they feel they have a good chance of getting to a leadership position if they are starting the ‘race’ later.”

She adds: “That being said, there are so many initiatives to encourage women into leadership positions, through mentoring/sponsorship programmes or by highlighting female role models, there is certainly more support for those determined to succeed later in life.”

Clearly studying law can be a significant financial strain and time commitment at a time in life where many women are already juggling a lot such as family commitments. The average costs for law school are also substantial and so perhaps it not surprising that many mature students may think twice before embarking on such a course.

However Jordan Lancaster, who had a very successful career in academia, linguistics and translation before deciding to embark on a legal career, says: “I don’t believe the time and commitment required for studies should act as a barrier to women career changers because there are so many options now for financing your studies and for studying part-time as I have done.”

As a result of the pandemic, many more institutions are now offering online courses and the aim of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE1) is to increase competition and innovation among universities/colleges and so widen access to careers in the profession. The SQE is also intended to increase flexibility by making it possible for volunteering roles/placements through university to count towards the two year training period along with paralegal experience.

Jordan adds: “My advice to women career changers is to always remember that everyone has distinct and special skills. Identify your own and stay positive. Seek out those allies to encourage you on this richly rewarding professional pathway.”

There is also the need to celebrate the stories of older women retraining so that it becomes the new norm and encourages others to follow suit. Former Sunday Times editor, columnist and writer Eleanor Mills set up a new platform in March 2021 called Noon (www.noon. org.uk) which is all about helping women aged 45+ find their next chapter.

Eleanor Mills says: “Our culture’s obsession with youth means the voice and stories of older women of all backgrounds go unheard, the wisdom of the elder female unsung.” The website tells the inspiring tales of one woman who became a stand up comedian in her late 50s and another who retrained as a doctor at age 48.

There is no doubt that retraining in law will not be an easy choice and require a lot of thought. However with the state pension age gradually increasing, the longevity of our working life means that there will be more opportunity and reason to consider a legal career later in life.

If you need any further inspiration, the BBC News reported in 2018 the story of an American lawyer Betsy Finocchi who passed her bar exams aged 47 and then went onto run her own legal practice with her mother Gail Segers. However she was a spring chicken compared to her mother Gail who did not pass her bar exams until the age of 61 and was still practising at age 82!

Tilly Rubens

Consultant, Russell Cooke