Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every week.

Q: I am thinking about applying to law school to obtain a J.D. to streamline my resume and to try to secure a position at Biglaw upon graduation. In these financial times, being at school seems like a good idea. When I came to the USA six years ago, spending three years at law school after 7 years of successful legal practice seemed to be unthinkable. Instead, I obtained an LL.M degree from a top 20 law school & passed two bar exams in CA & NY.

Although I received several offers for BigLaw positions in my native country, I had no luck in securing a position in the U.S. Finally, I ended up opening my own law firm. Although the practice is fine, I am dreaming about the caliber of the cases I used to deal with. Therefore, I decided to obtain a J.D. degree from a top law school & get a job at BigLaw. As you understand, it's not an easy decision, after all, I have 13 years of legal experience -- 2 years of U.S. experience, 4 years of experience in international fora and 7 years in my native country -- and am licensed to practice law in four jurisdictions. At the same time, I have already wasted six years trying to secure my dream job. Thank you for your advice.

Dear Manipulated: I smiled when I read that you wanted to streamline your resume by earning your J.D. degree. You are quite ambitious! I suspect that those employers who turned you down have missed out on an exceptional employee and a great attorney. Well, you are about to show them all -- you go ahead and enroll in a top 10 law school and get your job at a BigLaw firm and I am willing to bet the bank we will hear back from you when you are voted into the partnership.

It is a sad statement that you feel you have wasted six years of your life trying to secure your dream job. I understand your reasons for feeling this way, and certainly with your experience and background, don't blame you. However, there is no percentage in the past. I think you have the right attitude in deciding to apply to the top law schools to achieve your goal. However, your time has not been wasted. You have great accomplishments to chalk up to your time here in the U.S. You came to a new country where you earned your LL.M. from a top law school and, although you did not receive the offers you wanted, you did get offers from BigLaw firms to work in your native homeland. And when nothing panned out as you had hoped, you opened your own law practice. Again, not an easy feat.

You are correct in saying that these economic times are very rough and, if you can afford the tuition, attending a U.S. law school to earn a J.D. is an excellent idea. I think that you are going to find law school a breeze with your background and the good news is that you are already admitted to the New York and California Bars.

When you finish law school your resume will then become that of a recent graduate. All of your other education and experience will go under the heading of something similar to Other Related Legal Experience. And what a resume it will be! I think you will be a much-sought-after candidate. And by that time, with what the economists are saying, the job market should be looking great for new grads.

You needn't be concerned about an age factor either. Just this week I received an interesting e-mail from someone who went to law school as a second career. He was not only 13 years older than most of the other students, but he was a night student as well. Here is what he wrote:

Ann, I'm a big fan of your weekly column, and I was particularly struck by a recent question from the 36-year-old who is considering going to law school.

I was in the same boat, except I was 38 when I started an evening program at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Four years later, at age 42, I started as a first-year associate at O'Melveny & Myers; I also was able to spend a summer at OMM as a Summer Associate.

This individual is also happy to speak with anyone thinking about attending law school as a second career or at a later point in one's life. He wrote:

This may be terribly inappropriate, but I'm always happy to discuss my experiences with a fellow second-career seeker. I've got some decent insight into the trials and tribulations of being a "mature" law student. I'm also at least 13 years older than every other first year associate in my firm which can be interesting as well. I've also got some good examples of how going to law school later in life can turn out great or not so great.

If anyone is interested in getting in touch with this generous individual, let me know and I will give you his e-mail address.

And so my streamlined friend, if time and finances allow you to add yet another degree to your resume to achieve your goals and your ultimate dream, why not go for it? I think you are terrific for having the ambition to reach for your goals and I admire anyone who believes in their own ability to fulfill their dream. I hope you will keep in touch with me and let us know what happens. Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann M. Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates

P.S. I received an e-mail from the Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Law Project saying that they have job openings for deferred associates. I am sorry to say that they did not give an address, phone number or e-mail address so this is the best I can do.