Resources for Parents in Law School

By Alice Foley, Associate Law School Consultant

Law school can be a difficult and sometimes very isolating adventure. You sometimes hear that you need quiet space and calm to do your readings and prepare for class. But how are you supposed to make that happen when you are also responsible for keeping a perfect, wonderful but also loud, and often wild little human alive? How do you make it through law school as a parent?! Rest easy, parents, (1) you likely need all the extra rest, and (2) there are lots of law schools out there (around 70 by my unofficial count) that see you, and have resources especially for you

Today we’re going to cover some of the common resources that law schools have for parents, where to look if your law school doesn’t have specific resources, and give you a quick little pep talk. Parenting absolutely doesn’t mean you can’t attend law school AND be successful!

Just for clarity’s sake – we’re talking about law students who are also parents… not the parents of law students (that’s a different group and needs different resources). It’s a key difference when you’re searching law school websites, trust me. I’ll be referring to them as “law student-parents” throughout the post.

Common Parent Resources

The most common resource for law student-parents are student organizations on campus dedicated to building a community of law student-parents, connecting them with available campus and community resources, and advocating for them to school administration when necessary. Where the law student-parent community is not large enough or organized enough to create a dedicated group (priorities, amirite?), there’s typically a “non-traditional” student organization. Both are great groups and can be such a help while you navigate law school and parenting.

If your law school PR folks (sometimes it’s admissions folks, sometimes it’s marketing and communications, sometimes it’s a student worker!) are really, really good – they may be telling you about these groups before you even start school. If the organization officers are really into recruiting, they may reach out before you start school too! But don’t be concerned if they don’t. You’ll find them.

“But how do we find them?” you may find yourself asking… A lot of these groups have similar or the same names regardless of the school, so we’re going to share the most common ones: Parents Attending Law School (PALS), Parents in Law School, Older Wiser Law Students (OWLS). It’s probably obvious, but your best bet is to include “parent,” “family,” or “families” if you’re looking at the student organizations for any school you are researching. You can also search for “non-traditional” student organizations. While not only student-parent focused, these organizations can still be super helpful!

The second most common resource is child care assistance (either at the law school or through the main campus). Child Care assistance shows up a few different ways: sometimes the law school has on-site care, sometimes it’s on the main college campus, and sometimes it’s in partnership with local daycare or babysitting services. One quick note: sometimes the on-site care has restrictions, so definitely check or talk with someone! For example, UC Davis is home to a parent co-op for infant care – there’s no financial commitment, but you and your fellow parents take turns watching the little ones while their parents are in class.

If the school (law or main campus) doesn’t have a specific child care program in place, it’s likely that there will be financial assistance available to reimburse child care costs. These programs vary from school to school, so your best bet will always be to talk with financial aid officers at the school. For some schools, the program involves payment at the start of each semester while others may work with specific childcare facilities to cover a percentage of the costs. At the very minimum, most (if not all) schools will allow you to adjust the amount of student loans for living expenses (typically Grad PLUS) to cover family expenses.

All in all, your best bet for the most accurate information on financial resources for student-parents is the financial aid officers for your school.

Third, most – if not all – law schools have some process for academic resources (or accommodations) for student-parents. Like everything else we’ve covered so far, these will vary from school to school and may be handled on a case-by-case basis, so examples will only get you so far. However, these typically look like class schedule adjustments in the event of an impending birth, an adjustment to exam timing to accommodate the need for additional breaks for expectant and new moms, or adjustments to paper/project deadlines. The only universal advice I can give for these resources is to talk to your student services administrators as soon as you realize you may need an assist in the classroom.

Finally, there’s a bit of a catch-all category of student-parent resources. Some schools grant students access to sites like sittercity.com or host their own database of babysitters to assist in finding private childcare. Many law schools have dedicated lactation rooms, changing rooms, or family rooms that can provide private, quiet, and contained space. You may also end up in a law school community with administrators and professors dedicated to making your family a part of the law school community. Two of my very favorite stories about this are Law Dean Daycare and Keeping Family Life Central – these are just two, there are lots of others!

Where to look outside the law school

If you can’t find any dedicated resources at your law school, don’t panic! There are some other places that may help you out!

You’re going to want to check the main campus if your law school is attached to a larger university (you are as much a University of Texas - Austin student as any other while you attend UT Law). While a lot of law schools will make that connection for you and make sure you know where to look on the main campus, some may not. So, start with a look at the Student Life or Student Services sites. If that doesn’t get you to what you’re looking for, try searching for things like “Students with dependents” or “nontraditional student resources”. This is the place where it’s going to be most important to avoid using the word “parent” in your search – most undergraduate schools have parent resources (the parents of current students) and those aren’t going to be helpful. As a very last resort, you can also check Transfer Student Resources - sometimes schools will put resources for students with children there. Why? Your guess is as good as mine!

Next, you’re going to want to check the local/city/county/state websites. There are a variety of federal, state, and local programs to assist with caring for little humans. Again, some schools will make those lists for you, and that’s wonderful. But you’re going to be ready if your school doesn’t. The community immediately surrounding your law school can also be a wonderful resource. Depending on the vibe of your school’s neighborhood, there may be a variety of community-based organizations that can help! Whether it’s after-school programs or meetups with other local parents or a message board with local kid/family-friendly events, your local community can be a wealth of information.

The Pep Talk

Now, if you’ve made it this far in this post you clearly care about your future success as a parent and as a law student (and eventually a lawyer)! I’m here to tell you that after being in law school for three years and working in law school admissions for another eight+, I have watched many parents (new and experienced) not only make it through law school but thrive there. Law school can be a difficult undertaking, but like, it can’t be harder than raising another person, right? And you’re already doing a stellar job raising your kiddos!

Your law school community isn’t there to make it harder. It’s there to support you, and to challenge you academically as you learn how to be a great attorney. Your law school community will welcome you as a whole person – and will likely welcome your children too!

While not by any means an official list of the schools that have student-parent organizations or specific resources, you can check out what we’ve compiled here. 

As always, if you need or want more support – we’re here to help! To learn about our one-on-one application support and other packages, make sure to visit our law school services page!