By ERIN CONLEY
conley@du2.byu.edu
For better or worse, in sickness and in health, through constitutional law, clerkships and bar exams -- this is the spirit of the commitment more and more married couples are making as husbands and wives attend law school together.
At least six married couples attend the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU, a number that associate dean Scott Cameron said is statistically significant and in comparison to other law schools in the country, quite phenomenal.
Eileen Crane, a BYU pre-law adviser and president of the Western Association of Pre-law Advisers, has counseled with two couples just this year who are BYU students with both husband and wife going to law school. Crane said in past years she has had maybe one couple a year, or one every other year, but never two in one year.
There are plenty of factors for couples to consider when contemplating having both husband and wife in law school at the same time.
One attractive feature of a law education for a woman is the flexibility it offers, Crane said.
'What a graduate degree gives us is the flexibility to call the shots and I think that Latter-day Saint women are looking for power and control in that way, and less about cold, hard cash,' Crane said.
Law is one of the most wonderful graduate degrees to pursue because the principles remain the same, so a woman can go in and out of the profession at will, Crane said.
Attorneys have the freedom, if they are so impressed, to be home with their children, but still have the option of returning to their field, she said.
Kara Beal, a BYU law school student who, along with her husband, Seth, is in between her second and third years, said she finds a lot of comfort in the possibilities of a legal profession.
Kara Beal said she would like to be in a legal practice that's flexible enough that she could someday work reduced hours or even work from her home.
With the incredible increase in technology there's no reason people can't do legal research at home, Crane said.
There is also the option of government mandated job-sharing. This means that one job is split in half so, for example, each person would work two-and-a-half days a week and could be at home the rest of the time.
'I just don't want to be forced into anything--forced into staying home or into working,' said Stephanie Kelley, a BYU graduate who has been accepted to the J. Reuben Clark School of Law with her husband Dave.
Along with the flexibility it gives, a law degree also gives many women security, Crane said.
The average starting salary for a graduate of BYU law school this year was $45,000.
'If anything ever happened to Dave and he couldn't work, I don't want to be scrounging around to support my family,' Kelley said. 'I'll feel very confident with my degree.'
An attorney can be inactive in the practice of law for five or 10 or 15 years, but immediately go back and be able to practice, Cameron said.
'You might have to do some continuing legal education, but you would be prepared to immediately start a meaningful and relatively high paying career,' he said.
Couples with both husband and wife in law school face the challenge of paying for the cost of two educations.
Money doesn't need to be a problem for anyone, because there are copious amounts of financial aid available to those with good credit history, Crane said.
Cameron agreed there is plenty of money to borrow, but he pointed out that the money will have to be paid back and could become a stress at that time.
'Finances usually are not a concern while they're in law school, but trying to minimize the debt load for after graduation would be a concern,' he said.
Because debt becomes a major issue for these couples, BYU's law school becomes a very desirable option, Crane said.
The average tuition nationally for law schools is $17,000 per year. Tuition at the J. Reuben Clark law school is about $5,000. The cost of living in Provo is also a factor to be considered.
'What is possible at BYU may well be impossible at another school where the cost of education would be two to three times as much,' Cameron said.
The Beals, who both graduated from BYU, were interested in leaving the Provo to go to law school, but found that BYU was the only school they could afford to both go to, Kara Beal said.
Although they considered going to a state school in one of their home states, that plan was complicated by the fact that they are from different states and there is stiff competition and higher tuition for out-of-state applicants, Kara Beal said.
The Beals work during the summer but not during the school year.
'We lived entirely on student loans, and it was OK, not too tight,' Kara Beal said. 'Financial concerns shouldn't be a deterrent.'
Going to law school introduces some interesting dynamics into a relationship, Kara Beal said.
She said it took her and her husband about six weeks to adjust to the feelings of competition they had during their first year when they had all the same classes. Now, they love being in school together, she said.
'It's fabulous for us,' Kara Beal said. 'We get to spend all day together. We have a better understanding of the pressures and issues that each of us is dealing with.'
Crane cited an article from the Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy that stated that any combination of both spouses doing the same kinds of things (for example, both full-time students or both working full-time) had a higher degree of marital satisfaction than those who had dissimilar schedules.
Cameron said a lot depends on the stage a couple is at in their marriage.
'If the married couple starts law school together without children, then it could be very supportive-you could study together, you would have so much in common, you would have the same friends,' he said. 'It would be something that would bring you together. It may become a little bit more complex when there are children.'
The Kelleys have a two-year old son, Jameson, who they said makes things more complicated. They said they plan on sharing the responsibilities of taking care of their son, and will also get help from Stephanie's family and from some close friends.
Although few of the Kelleys' friends have been supportive of their decision, the Kelleys said they feel good about it and would encourage other couples to do the same thing.
'If you feel right about it and you've prayed and you've fasted and you feel right, just don't worry about what other people say because you know,' Stephanie Kelley said. 'You're the one who knows what's right for you.'
'That's for sure, we couldn't do it without that confirmation because there are so many sacrifices involved and so many things to worry about,' Kelley said.