Careers
Law Grad, 59, Looks Forward to Decades of Practice
Posted Nov 11, 2009 1:57 PM CST
By Martha Neil
Relatives of Dana Muller lived well into their 90s, and her 83-year-old mother still takes aerobics classes regularly. So it isn't unrealistic, the 59-year-old recent law graduate says, to expect that she could practice at least into her 70s.
A former legal secretary and law office manager who holds a doctorate in music, Muller says her experience as a South Hadley, Mass., selectman gave her the strongest push towards law school, reports the Republican.
"I realized so much of municipal government has to do with the law," she tells the newspaper. "I wanted to understand how the law works. We came into contact with a lot of lawyers."
After earning her law degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Muller returned to South Hadley. In addition to her interest in government law, her music expertise has sparked an interest in intellectual property, she says.
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Comments
joe
Nov 12, 2009 3:47 AM CST
hilarious! I sure hope she has some powerful local connections.
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J. Garment
Nov 12, 2009 6:25 AM CST
Congrats to this broadt, who is surely a bit long in the tooth to be starting out. Let’s hope she wants to go into solo private practice, because there’s a whole lot of younger people out there looking for work, and this broad is not going to get kudos for the first 40 years of her working life. I do wish the broad luck!
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wendy
Nov 12, 2009 11:00 AM CST
I object to the cynical tone of the two previous comments. I am now 59, female but not a “broad” or a “broadt.” I graduated from a second-tier law school at age 56 and earned an LLM with Distinction at age 58 1/2. I am doing well as an associate in a small firm. My prior professional background has neither helped nor hurt me in my current career.
BTW, I was not the oldest person in my law school class. The oldest person, who was in her 60’s at the time, has an even more successful career than I do.
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ChicaGo
Nov 12, 2009 11:00 AM CST
I think she has a bright future. Older graduates have a much more realistic view of how things will be. She’ll bring a maturity and calm demeanor to her practice. Her years of experience working with people will put her at an advantage over younger lawyers. Kudos.
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2L
Nov 12, 2009 8:11 PM CST
You have got to be kidding me. Who goes to law school at sixty or seventy? Say what you want about me and I am sure the oldies will chime in but this is funny. @2, take your Xanax and have a gin and tonic.
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Alvin
Nov 13, 2009 7:11 AM CST
I think some of our commentors here have a fairly narrow view of what law school is and who it is for. Professional training is for anyone who can sit up and take it. And what they do with it is their own business, and their own problem. Most older law students don’t have the same goals for themselves as younger law students. You can do whatever you want with your J.D. I paid for mine out of pocket, so I am just going to take it easy, work when I can, and retire on schedule. Good luck to you boys and girls with the attitudes. If you don’t have anything better to do than slam old women for going to law school perhaps you should reflect on whether you have anything to offer at all. My immediate notion is that you don’t.
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Pat Werschulz
Nov 13, 2009 2:19 PM CST
I too am a recent law graduate and 59 and I was not the oldest in my class. I had a very successful career previously but I had met all of my career goals by age 55. I needed a new challenge and law school and patent law specifically was something I had always wanted to do. I do not expect my previous experience to be advantage over younger lawyers. In fact, the reality is it seems to be a significant disadvantage when applying to mid- and large-size firms. AND I AM NOT AN OLD WOMAN.
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