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The short answer is, of course they can. If you have been thinking about going to law school as a mature adult, it is possible for law school doors to open for you. As baby boomers and older adults reinvent themselves in their senior years, some will want to take the journey towards becoming a lawyer. Others will do it to seek the intellectual adventure of learning about the law. There are many opportunities to do so. America currently has 193 American Bar Association-approved law schools, offering a Juris Doctor (J.D.) course of study (the basic law degree). Law school typically takes three years to complete, going full-time, or four years (or more) in a part-time program. Upon completion, law school graduates typically take a commercial prep course designed to assist them in passing the bar exam of their state. The bar exam, a multiple-day affair, requires an extensive application and a background and character investigation. Bar passage rates vary from about 61% (California) to 91% (Minnesota).

Am I too old to go? Law schools do not place a limit on the age of their students. In fact, they welcome the seasoning effect of some mature adults as students, knowing that they offer a perspective based on life and work experience that a 26-year-old student (about the average age of a current full-time law student) simply cannot yet provide. Your life and previous work experience may well be a very useful foundation for the systematic study of the law. Life experience can be like “money in the bank” for the process of earning a law degree.

What types of law schools are there? Think of law schools as essentially in three categories: national, regional and local. Within each category you will see both public and private law schools. National law schools, like Harvard, Berkeley and Georgetown, have the toughest admission standards. Such prestigious law schools attract top students and elite law-related employers from all over the US. Regional law schools, often public, are best known in their own state, and have a more regional emphasis and impact. They can be very highly regarded, and tough to get into. Examples: University of Maryland, University of Arizona, and the University of Kansas. Local law schools, usually lower in the law school hierarchy, have the easiest admission standards but offer the least access to top employers. But they can be a perfectly fine choice for a senior interested in exploring the law and perhaps developing a future local law practice in one’s current community. Examples: University of Baltimore, Golden Gate University, and Florida Coastal School of Law. Don’t be surprised if every law school you explore describes itself as a “national” law school. Take law school marketing materials with a grain of salt.

What is law school really like? In a couple of sentences, law school is the study of disputes. What happens when things go wrong in complex relationships? How is the law structured to resolve problems? Where is new law needed? You should feel free to visit any law school of interest to you. Expect to see many, many students far younger than you, but look for those in your age bracket as well. Stop in to the admissions office. Introduce yourself. Pick up materials. Go on a tour. Talk to students. Get permission to sit in several classes. Say hello to law school professors (who may look remarkably young to you!). Seek to meet older students. Ask about their experience. Visit multiple law schools, so that you can begin to see the differences in law school style and culture.

What skills will I need to start law school? Love of reading, attention to detail, familiarity with the use of a laptop computer, persistence, patience, a desire to debate issues, an eagerness to speak in public, and a willingness to consider both sides of many arguments. You will journey both backwards in time to see historic cases in the law, and you will visit the very edge of contemporary legal issues, as the law grapples with new controversies and novel problems. You will begin to see the vast statutory and judge-made structure of the law. You will likely encounter exceptionally talented law school professors, but also those who will drive you crazy. Teaching talent in law school varies tremendously.

How do I apply? First, understand that you do not need a formal relationship with a law school to begin your learning about the law. You can—and should—engage in a great deal of reading and personal learning before you start the application process. Begin with the free resources of the Law School Admission Council, at www.lsac.org. But understand that LSAC represents first the interests of law schools. It offers no assistance, for example, on the issue of law school ranking. You need to go to US News & World Report at www.usnews.com to see its enormously influential law school ranking information. Explore the bibliography offered by LSAC at www.lsac.org/pdfs/2006-2007/ResourcesforthePrelawCandidateJuly06.pdf. You could spend years profitably reading from it before law school. My favorite suggested prelaw reading list for incoming law students is found at Regent University’s School of Law at www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/admissions/booklist.cfm.

What about the LSAT? The Law School Admission Test is required by all ABA-approved law schools. It is a tough, demanding test of one’s reading comprehension and analytical abilities. For applicants who are mature adults, far from their college years, law schools will consider very carefully your LSAT result. It is heavily weighted in the admissions process. Law schools may deny it, but the LSAT in effect is the “IQ test” for law school. But the good news is that with thoughtful, effective and perhaps a long period of preparation using practice tests, the LSAT can be mastered. Do not take the real LSAT until you are repeatedly scoring in practice tests at least in the LSAT range associated with the students enrolling at your target law school. Both LSAC and US News offer this information.

What about non-ABA-approved law schools? Some states, like California, Massachusetts, and a number of southern states have law schools outside the system created by LSAC and the American Bar Association. They can offer a much lower barrier to entry, such as no required LSAT score in some cases, but legal employers may place less confidence in their graduates. These schools often enable their graduates to sit for the bar exam in only their own state, so factor that into your planning. But to their credit, they may offer innovations resisted by ABA-approved law schools, such as distance learning, curricular distinctives, and greater affordability. Some explicitly seek out mature students. They are worth exploring.

Start with a light course load. Don’t be reluctant to seek out a part-time JD course of study. You’ll see older students in part-time, evening programs. Begin with a small number of courses, so that you can adjust to the expectations of law school professors, without suffering an overload. Don’t let law school unbalance your life. Seek to grow towards a worthy academic or professional goal in a way that allows you to enjoy your senior years. You don’t need to be wrapped up in a “paper chase”—the drive towards credentialing that motivates younger law students. Use the considerable advantages of your life experience. Your journey to a law degree begins with sound, informed planning.

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Brad Dobeck is an attorney and president of PrelawAdvisor.com.