Hi everyone, and welcome to Becoming Counsel. My name is Ibrahim, and I graduated from law school a few months ago. In fact, I just sat for the bar exam last week, so right now I’m in that strange waiting period between the exam and the results.
Since I finally have a little space to reflect, I wanted to start documenting what it’s really like to go through law school as a non-traditional student. For me, that meant working full-time, being married, raising kids, and somehow trying to hold it all together. Spoiler: it wasn’t easy. But it was possible. And if I had the chance to do it again, there are definitely things I would do differently to make the journey easier.
For this first post, I want to tackle the question I get asked most often:
Why did I decide to go to law school in the first place?
On paper, it didn’t make much sense. I was already a director of technology, married, financially stable, and just starting to think about building a family. Why would I willingly step into one of the most demanding academic challenges out there?
The truth is, it came down to three stories.
Story One: The First Spark
Over a decade ago, a mentor of mine—a lawyer—passed away. I traveled to New York to help his wife, also an attorney, wind down his part of their small practice.
What struck me wasn’t just the grief of his passing but the steady stream of people who came to pay their respects. They didn’t arrive with just condolences. They brought food, gifts, and stories about how he had changed their lives. These weren’t just clients—they were people whose lives had been profoundly touched by his work.
His wife explained that during the 2008 housing crisis, he had left his big-law job to start a solo practice helping people keep their homes. He became an expert almost overnight and fought for those families until they could get back on their feet.
That was the first time I realized the impact an attorney could have. And for the first time, I began to imagine that maybe one day, I could pursue that path too.
Story Two: Success Without Fulfillment
But in my early 20s, I had other priorities. I dove into tech, learned my first skills off YouTube, and worked my way up until I became a director for a global company. Along the way, I did consulting, built products, and learned from incredible mentors.
Yet my last big project was telling: I spent two and a half years building a checkout system for a Fortune 500 company. Important work, sure—but when it was all said and done, it still just felt like “checkout.”
The job paid well, helped me get married, buy a home, and build stability—but I started craving something more meaningful.
Story Three: Watching Mentors Fall
Then came COVID.
One by one, I watched many of my mentors—people with 15–20 years of experience—lose their jobs in tech. Out of 10 I knew personally, only one ever made it back into the industry. The rest had to reinvent themselves: real estate, financial planning, even going back to undergrad to start new careers.
When I asked what they would have done differently, their advice was surprisingly consistent: build another skill set that can serve as a backup plan.
That advice stuck. Combined with my desire to make a greater impact, it pushed me to seriously consider law school.
Making the Leap
Of course, making the decision wasn’t the same as making it happen. The first step was getting my wife on board. I had just finished a master’s program, and the idea of going back to school while we were planning to have kids wasn’t exactly her dream scenario.
But she supported me—partly because her own father had gone to law school in his late 30s, so she had seen it done before.
We made a deal: I would only go if I could do it without taking on massive debt. That meant going part-time (so I could keep working) and finding scholarships.
I studied hard for the LSAT, applied strategically, and ultimately earned a full-ride scholarship at a part-time program. It wasn’t the highest-ranked school I got into, but it was the one that allowed me to chase this dream without jeopardizing my family’s financial future.
Why I’m Sharing This
So why start this blog now?
Because being a tech director, a part-time law student, and a dad came with unique challenges. I learned lessons the hard way, and I’ve answered the same questions over and over from people curious about the path:
- Was it worth it?
- How do you balance school, work, and family?
- How much do scholarships really help?
- How much do you actually have to study?
Rather than keep repeating the same answers, I decided to start documenting the journey here. My hope is that by sharing my experience—the good, the bad, and the unexpected—I can help others decide whether law school makes sense for them, especially if you’re considering it later in life with real responsibilities on your shoulders.
If that’s you, I hope these posts give you clarity, encouragement, and maybe even a roadmap.
Here’s to the journey of becoming counsel.