For Maria Figueroa, a 2L Online J.D. student at Southwestern Law School, law school has been a family journey. 

In her February 2026 ABA Journal essay, “How to Manage Family Expectations During Law School,” Figueroa candidly describes the challenges of pursuing a legal education while raising children and working full time. The essay offers practical advice for students with similar responsibilities while capturing the emotional negotiation that happens when one person’s dream requires the entire household to change. 

Before her first year began, Figueroa prepared her family for the journey ahead. She redistributed household responsibilities, built new routines with her husband, planned early-morning study sessions, and talked with her children about how her time and availability would shift. Still, the reality of that first semester was harder than she expected. 

“The pressure of balancing law school, parenting, and a full-time job was relentless,” Figueroa writes. “I often questioned whether I had made the right choice.” 

One of the essay’s most moving moments comes when Figueroa’s youngest daughter, overwhelmed by the family’s new rhythm, asked her to quit law school. In that moment, Figueroa remembered advice from Southwestern’s Dean: when law school becomes difficult, return to your “why.” She sat with her daughter and explained why this path mattered, what it meant for their family, and why the purpose of the sacrifice. 

“That conversation didn’t make everything perfect,” Figueroa writes, “but it did help her turn her frustration into understanding.” 

Figueroa's story is a familiar one in Southwestern's Online J.D. Program, where most students arrive with careers already underway, children at home, and parents who depend on them. Her essay is honest about what that costs and clear about what it offers: a path through law school that the whole family walks together, learning as they go. 

“You do not need to have it all together or have everything figured out,” Figueroa writes. “Simply doing your best is enough for now.” 

Read the full essay in the ABA Journal