88-year-old woman fulfills lifelong dream of attending law school

News Anchor

SEASIDE, Calif. —

At 88 years old, Libby Downey is two years into law school at Monterey College of Law, proving it’s never too late to chase a lifelong dream.

“It just makes life so much more interesting,” Downey said.

Downey is a wife, mother, grandmother, retired nurse, former Monterey City Council member, and has served on nearly 40 boards during her 60 years on the Monterey Peninsula. Her life has been dedicated to public service, but one goal she always wanted to achieve was attending law school.

“I said, ‘You know, Mitch, if I had my life to do over, the only thing I wish I had done is go to law school.’ And he said, ‘Well, come to my law school,'” Downey said. “When he said that was a possibility, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I’ve wanted to do this all my life.'”

“I have a strong suspicion she is the oldest law student in the United States,” said Mitch Winick, the former dean of Monterey College of Law.

Downey’s dream of studying law dates back to high school, but societal expectations at the time limited her career options.

“My choices in that day: A woman was to be a nurse, a school teacher, or a secretary. So, I thought that was it,” Downey said.

Now, decades later, she is one of 100 students enrolled at Monterey College of Law, which is one of the first two accredited online JD programs in the country. The program allows students to pursue a legal education at night while working full-time during the day.

“The practice of law is such a critical part of equity and fairness in our community,” Winick said. “We need lawyers, and we particularly need lawyers who are rooted to the community.”

Downey is nearing a master’s degree in legal studies and plans to decide her next steps after completing it.

“I’m getting very close to a master’s in legal studies. So I think I’ll do that first and then we’ll see if I hang in there,” she said.

Upon graduation, Downey hopes to work in mediation or consulting with attorneys in the medical field or city policy.

“You know you’re not going to have as many years to practice what you’re doing. But the enrichment and the learning – nobody can take away from me what I’ve learned in law school,” Downey said.

Winick added, “Libby could’ve retired many times. And yet what Libby does is she looks and finds something else to do in service.”

Downey said her drive comes from her desire to stay active and engaged.

“I don’t want to sit around and watch TV and go out to lunch,” she said. “I need to do something where I feel like I’m accomplishing something.”