Are You Planning to Leave Your Legal Career?

According to a recent poll, 70 percent of lawyers surveyed said they would start a new career if they could. Another Johns Hopkins University study found that lawyers had a greater rate of depression than workers in any of the 104 other occupations studied.

Other lawyers have referred to themselves as "slaves" or "gerbils" in their anonymous letters.


Could things get worse? Well, yes. Lawyers have among the highest suicide rates, lowest popularity ratings, highest pressure, and longest hours of almost any profession that exists. It's depressing, to say the least. On top of that, in the past several years lawyers have been subject to the previously unheard of sting of layoffs and downsizing.

For those of us who grew up watching lawyers in film and television, it seemed like it would be an interesting profession. Anatomy of a Murder, 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Caine Mutiny - all classics - portrayed lawyers who made a difference. More recently, television programs such as "L.A. Law" made the profession seem lucrative and glamorous, if not honorable. Even the O.J. Simpson trial showed lawyers involved in high drama and theatrics analogous to the best Perry Mason episodes.

Who knew that the real-life young lawyers would be so unhappy. This feeling is not limited to young lawyers alone.

Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy?

Perhaps the most comprehensive study of lawyer dissatisfaction was conducted by the American Bar Association Young Lawyers' Division not too long ago. The 3,000-plus "young lawyers" (defined as under age 36 or less than three years in practice) interviewed cited three major problems causing job dissatisfaction:

1. Lack of time for self and family, due to billable hours requirement.
    
2. Failure to communicate and isolation within the firm.
    
3. Lack of training or mentoring within the firm.

According to one law school dean, "Expectations fail to meet reality when law students graduate and enter the work force." In recent years, law students are deciding to seek alternatives before graduating from law school. Most law school career services offices have indicated an increase (to about seven percent of the class) in the number of its graduates pursuing non- legal careers upon graduation. "Beginning in law school, many law students blindly aspire to be partners rather than lawyers. ...Yet despite these disenchanted lawyers' focus upon 'partnership' status, surprisingly, most are incredibly naive about law as a business....Thankfully the trend seems to be shifting (according to one attorney participating in an online comment discussion about the legal profession)."

A recent online exchange on American Lawyer's Counsel Connect involved a group of lawyers mulling over the state of the profession. Among the reasons given for professional dissatisfaction were that the profession "requires lawyers to take responsibility for outcomes they cannot control..., [we are] involved in procedures that don't tend to resolve disputes or make the world a better place." Another participant commented, "Lawyers I have met don't like being lawyers... [they] feel that way because they are tired of the pressure, their everyday tasks are boring, and their accomplishments are not fulfilling. Remember that these are intelligent, well-educated, and often creative people who have found that the law was not all it was cracked up to be." In the profiles of lawyers interviewed for this book, the most common threads of job unhappiness relate to a lack of guidance, lack of mentors, lack of fulfillment with their work, disappointment with the realities of how much they could earn, lack of appropriate treatment by senior associates, and pure burnout, caused by overwork. Their comments echo those cited by the major studies of lawyer career dissatisfaction: "The long hours, the pressure to make partner...the responsibility of telling people the correct answer...If I miss something there is a tremendous cost to being wrong," said one former attorney. As you advance, you are the responsible party, sometimes with life-or-death responsibility on your shoulders. "The law is too insulated, too far removed. And the reward for doing a good job is more work and more pressure," according one human resources expert. Ironically, it is often the students who graduate with the most highly coveted jobs-associates at large law firms-who are the most unhappy lawyers. The same students who were envied by their law school peers often would call me, furtively, with the door closed and whisper about how desperate they felt. Life as an associate in a large firm is by almost all accounts, highly stressful and at times tedious. In addition, the law is the only profession with an "up-or-out" system. Even if you are the best and the brightest, which young associates often are, there is no guarantee of making partner, and if you don't you eventually have to leave the firm. The volatile economy of law firms of the 1990s has further contributed to the associate's sense of fear, in- stability, extreme competition, and depression.

Who Are The Happiest Lawyers?

If associates are potentially the unhappiest lawyers, especially those at large firms, then who are the happiest lawyers? Are there any happy lawyers?

The answer is yes: Among the most content lawyers are solo practitioners, public interest lawyers, law professors, and the new breed of contract and temporary lawyers. The President of the National Lawyers Guild, an organization of public interest lawyers, is genuinely happy: "Public interest law gives people an opportunity to make an impact on the world and feel they are doing something of value." Another public interest lawyer agrees: "Although it's not a bed of wine and roses, in general, public interest lawyers seem happier." Public interest lawyers, although at the low end of the pay scale, reap immense personal satisfaction from their work. "I will do this for as long as I can afford to," said one young assistant district attorney in the sex crimes unit.

Of partners in private practice who like their work, most derive similar personal satisfaction. According to one, "I like practicing law... Sometimes I really help people." Another partner comments, "While I am occasionally unenthusiastic about practice, there are times I feel I have truly helped my clients." It is this old-fashioned, personal, traditional lawyer-client relation- ship that gave lawyers the title "counselor"-and it is a title that they value. In large firms, the happiest lawyers seem to be those in "sexy" practice areas, such as entertainment law, or mergers and acquisitions. In recent years, large firm lawyers who em- brace and enjoy their "rainmaking" (attracting new clients) duties, as well as their paper work, have likewise thrived. We have also witnessed the reemergence of solo practice as an attractive alternative to firm practice. People seem willing to give up money and status to gain a feeling of control over their lives. Solo practitioners do not have to answer to anyone but themselves and their clients. They control their time and their caseload. "I left large-firm practice for small/solo practice...and I can't imagine being desperate enough to return to a large firm," said one anonymous attorney. Computer technology has also been instrumental in making solo practice affordable. Teaching law gives lawyers an opportunity both to be creative and to help people, leading to very high career satisfaction. Plus, the money's not bad.

Finally, contract and temporary lawyering, a new but growing trend, allows lawyers to still earn a good salary, but have breaks in between assignments.

Are You In The Wrong Career, Or Just The Wrong Job?

Well, to begin with, you concur with some, if not all, of the reasons cited for lawyer dissatisfaction. In fact, "dissatisfied" might even be a very nice way to describe how you feel about practicing law. So what do you do now? Before reading on about the wonderful world of ex-lawyers, you should first consider the source of your dissatisfaction. It is probably easier to shift gears, and see how that feels, than it is to abandon ship completely, only to discover it was not "the law," but the setting in which you were practicing.

Possible Solutions

Many people discover job satisfaction by switching from the private to the public sector, or vice-versa. Or from a large firm to a small firm. Sometimes where you are working is just not a good fit, or there may be political reasons why you cannot succeed. Often, the pressure of practicing in a large metropolitan area overwhelms any positive feelings you may have about practice. Try to differentiate the part of you that hates your "job" from the part of you that hates (or maybe actually likes) your profession.

Speaking with a career counselor, your peers, or even a therapist, or taking a short sabbatical may help you gain some perspective to make a final decision. Remember that most decisions are not irrevocable-you can always go back to being a lawyer...if you decide you want to.

Can This Situation Be Improved?

There may also be steps you can take within your current job that will ease your current situation and, inevitably, your life.

Perhaps there is a way for you to gain greater control over your work. Technological advances may give you some bar gaining power over how much time you have to spend in the office (face time). Laptop computers and modems have made the practice of law much more portable.

In addition, pro bono work or a volunteer activity outside of work may give you a greater sense of control over your life. Do something that fulfills you. Something you enjoy. Do things to gain perspective, like get away from your peers for a few hours a day.

Perhaps you should consider becoming a solo, temporary lawyer, or contract lawyer. Ironically, there are many more options for attorneys now that the economy is not as strong. Many more options/titles have been created.

Also, don't forget about resources that are right under your nose. Talk to others; don't isolate yourself. Join online conversations on the Internet or Counsel connect. If you want to remain anonymous, use a different name. But however you do it, vent! Take control of your health and mental well-being. Consider moving to a smaller city, or one highly rated for its lifestyle. One caveat: Some states require that you take their Bar Exam before you are allowed to practice in that state, while others will just allow you to waive in if you are in good standing (i.e., Money magazine in 1996 rated Madison, Wisconsin as the best city to live in). Do anything you can to improve your quality of life. Bill, a Fordham Law School alum, went to work at an 80-hour-a-week job at a high-profile Manhattan law firm. Within two years, he realized he was miserable. Not only did he have zero personal life, but when he did have free time there weren't the sort of outdoor activities available that didn't require a long drive up-state. What was his solution? Relocation. Bill had already taken and passed the Colorado Bar, and, since cold-weather sports were his all-time favorite, found a suitable position at a Denver law firm in the middle of ski country.

Is LEAVING WORTH THE RISK?

After reading all of the above, balance the pros and cons and decide for yourself. Let the rest of the book help you to decide. See how you feel when you are reading it. Are you ready to leave, or do you have very mixed emotions? Do you want to try a reconciliation or are you done with law for good? Trust your gut feelings and follow your instincts.