“I hate being a lawyer”

When I review the searches that lead people to this blog, I all too frequently find some version of, “I hate being a lawyer.”  Often I shrug and move on without much thought, but seeing the search last weekend took me down a different line of thought.

Is this really true for the searcher?

Maybe it is.  If so, I empathize.  Although I’ve never hated practicing law, I’ve (briefly) had jobs I hated and sometimes had to do tasks I hated even in jobs I loved.  It’s painful to hate something that consumes the bulk of one’s conscious hours, and change is in order — pronto.

More likely, though, it’s not entirely true, though there’s some part of the statement that is true.  So, the key is to determine which of two aspects (and perhaps more) is untrue.  (And for here on out, I’m addressing the “you” who agree with the search statement.)

1.  “I hate being a lawyer.  What does it mean to you to “be a lawyer?”  How do you interpret that identity, and what do you dislike about it?  Is there a way to reshape “being a lawyer” so that it’s more acceptable?  Is it different to “be someone who practices law” than to “be a lawyer”?  This is a rich area for exploration.

2.  “I hate practicing law.”  This is what I suspect the search is really all about.  But again, is this entirely true?  Is there some part of practice you enjoy?  Maybe you really like research and writing but hate dealing with clients — or vice versa.  Maybe you enjoy the puzzle of tax law but not the clients you represent.  Maybe you want to be on your feet and out of the office more than anything.  Finding the parts of practice that you do like is the key step toward a situation that’s a good fit for you.  This is another area rich for investigation.

Although happy lawyers explain the source of their happiness in many different ways, the common denominator seems to be that they connect what they enjoy to what they do on a regular basis in practice.  I don’t imagine that any lawyer or any person likes every single professional task undertaken, but there’s a tipping point, and those who stay above that point tend to self-identify as happy.  I’ve also observed that happy lawyers connect with a sense of fulfillment or a belief that what they’re doing matters.

The bottom line, of course, is that making the statement “I hate being a lawyer” calls for some kind of action.  Maybe the action is a job/career change, or maybe it’s analysis to identify what changes would negate that statement (partly or completely) and making those changes.

So, searcher, you “hate being a lawyer.”  What will you choose to do about it?

 

12 replies
  1. Cato
    Cato says:

    I stumbled across this blog at 1:00am while preparing for a crummy deposition. Yes, I hate practicing law!! I love the law, I love figuring out what the law is, having discussions about the law and convincing others what the law is. The trouble is I hate dealing with clients–and people. I am not a businessman. I went to law school because I liked researching and writing and problem solving–not to be a used car salesman. I loved my 2 year clerkship and have hated every job since then.

    I wake up every morning knowing that I have to act like an a-hole and yell at someone, and knowing that I am going to get yelled at by about 12 people during the day, including bosses, clients, and judges. The issues don’t matter, the truth doesn’t matter, what is “right, fair, or equitable” doesn’t matter–all that matters is making your billables and bringing in the buck. Thats all this is about, thats all that anyone cares about. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how hard you work, or the quality of your work. In fact, most of the sucessful partners at every law firm at which I have worked were HORRID attorneys, and probably violated the ethical code on a daily basis. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t tell the difference between a tort and a pie–they brought the money in, so they made partner. The smart people who actually do all the work get too expensive after 5 years and are “let go” because they “don’t fit” and don’t “meet expectations.”

    To make matters worse, your co-workers and superiors are more of a threat to you than opposing counsel. So in addition to freaking out about everything else, I have to go through the entire day knowing that each and every one of my co-workers will screw me at the first chance if it benefits them. There is no “team,” no “greater purpose.” Its like sharing a pirate sloop with 60 other briggands. Everyone is happy as long as the money is flowing in, but you better sleep with one eye open and a dagger in your hand, lest you wake up in the morning floating in the sea.

    So yes, I hate being a lawyer and hate practicing law. However, given that I am part of an bottomless pool of summa cum laude phi betta kappa graduates from mid-tier law schools that clerked after graduation and are stuck with 100K + in loans, I have no choice but to endure this BS until I kill myself or die of a heart attack!

    There simply is not a market for an attorney 5 years out who excels at researching and writing briefs and loves appellate work. The younger litigation folks hate giving their briefs away and the older attorneys do not want some young “upstart” telling them not to use passive voice sentences, inverted sentence structure, and nominalizations in their briefs.

    This profession is a joke! I am an indentured servant destined to engage in legalized extortion for the rest of my life. If I could sue my law school for fraudulent inducement I would.

  2. Brian
    Brian says:

    I happen to agree with this poster. I could not hack it at a major firm for many of the same reasons he identifies. When working with other attorneys, you need to be more mindful of the other attorneys than opposing counsel. It really does stink.

  3. Tim
    Tim says:

    Cato . . . wow! As I read your comment, I started to think that I wrote it myself. I’ve been practicing for two years, and one thing that worries me besides the constant misery is that I won’t develop a sufficient “client base” (either because I can’t or because I have no drive to do it) and that in two or three years I’ll be too expensive for the firm to keep. Luckily, I’m not saddled with big student loans, but what else can I do? With the economy the way it is, it seems too risky to change professions now.

    I hate coming to work. It isn’t so much dealing with clients (because I don’t have any and don’t speak to any) or opposing counsel (I rarely communicate with them except to relay messages to the partner) or judges (I never get to court because the partner always argues the motions I write) or taking depositions (I’ve only taken 1 in two years) or office backstabbing (I guess there’s no reason to backstab me yet). It’s that I feel so wasted here. I was a law clerk for three years for two different federal judges before coming to private practice. It was great. I was challenged. I developed researching and writing skills. I did something important. The issues were complex and interesting. Here, I’ve spent the last couple of days slowly drafting interrogatories and requests for production in a simple case (actually, it’s now needlessly devolved into four simple cases, thanks to me) that’s already dragged on for more than a year (again thanks to me). I’m not helping anyone except my firm and the partner I’m working for. Meanwhile, I’m told I need to “cowboy up.” That’s what some anonymous partner wrote on my evaluation. What the **** does that mean? That same person said that I would have problems attracting clients to the firm because my non-cowboy approach does not “instill confidence”–a foreshadowing of my eventual termination down the road.

    From what I have seen so far this is how practicing law works–your job as a litigator/cowboy is to stride into the salon and bludgeon the other side with threats and delay and massive litigation expenses until they’re so tired and financially expended that they settle. At the same time, opposing counsel/cowboy is doing the same to your client. I don’t see the net benefit to society. We don’t create anything. The only justification for our profession is that some people are so damn stupid that they can’t act rationally and can’t resolve their problems until lawyers and their bludgeoning instruments get involved. That is plain stupid. More than half of the cases I’ve worked on are only here because of personal animus between the parties. Oh, well.

  4. Pat
    Pat says:

    I could not agree more with the comments. I realize that there is a lot more to the statement, “I hate being a lawyer” once you peel back the layers. I hate drafting discovery, I hate answering discovery, but most of all, I hate having to learn everything the hard way. And by that I mean, by messing something up because I’m relatively new and have not had experience with every single little thing that comes up, and then getting yelled at for doing it wrong.
    I discovered today why I use email with my boss so much – despite the fact that he hates it. No matter what I step in his office for, to tell him good news, to tell him we won a motion, to explain something to him, whatever, I leave feeling like an idiot or with more work. Period. Even if something was “all me” and a good thing, he’ll find a way to minimize it, take the credit, or say he would have done it better. If I’m proud of a dep, he’ll come back with 50 things I should have asked. Not a pleasant way to spend 12 hours a day. Thus, email has become my preferred way to communicate. He can’t type well so there is less bashing!
    My experience with lawyers has taught me that while these people may be great lawyers, they are not great business people, mentors, teachers, etc. Why? All they know is how to be lawyers. They never worked in the business world. They never cared about efficiency or organization or how to lead a team or how to teach.
    Not sure what I’m going to do, but one thing is for sure – I’m not going to continue like this. Having graduated Summa Cum Laude, even with the crappy economy, I’ll eventually give up – anyone with any backbone would eventually.

  5. Joe
    Joe says:

    Completely agree with the above posters. I work in a top 10 law firm in M&A. And it’s complete and utter BS the stuff that I do. It’s all execution work – just immensely boring. All good-paying jobs are usually boring because they’re corporate jobs – and corporate jobs means you do menial tasks for corporates like help them file some SEC document prior to a takeover. BOOOORRRING. I don’t have loans nor need to look after a family so am probably at more luxury than some of you to leave. But where do I go in this sort of market?

  6. Diana
    Diana says:

    I almost feel guilty saying I hate being a lawyer because (in case you’ve been under a rock and didn’t already know) the economy is in the toilet, but I still have a job and make a good salary. This job has allowed me to put a lot of money in the bank, and I have received a good bit of recognition for the work I do. I’m a partner, so I don’t have any complaints about “the boss”, although I could do without the micromanaging managing partner. After reading this blog and giving the points raised some serious thought, I guess what I hate about being a lawyer is the sense of never being “good enough”. No matter what I do, there is another lawyer out there ready to pick apart what I have done, and second guess my advice. Clients are rarely happy. If you call them, they complain about the bill, if you don’t you are not being responsive. A few weeks ago, when I dropped my son off at preschool, his teacher stopped me and told me if they gave an award for the best lunches, my son would win. I’m a partner, do large complex estate planning, make a great salary, etc, but nothing, I mean NOTHING in my job has ever given me as much job satisfaction as that comment by the preschool teacher. My job as a lawyer? yeah it pays the bills, but my “job” as a mom? I MAKE GOOD LUNCHES !!!!!!

  7. Ginger
    Ginger says:

    I’m at the point where prison seems to be an attractive alternative to practicing law. I’m out 10 years and I can’t take another day of chasing clients for money, dealing with moronic judges who play favorites and dealing with attorneys who are dicks. And my wife’s position is “your making good money, what else matters?” Is there anyone else who can relate?

  8. Alexis Martin Neely
    Alexis Martin Neely says:

    Reading these comments makes me sad. I remember when I felt like this ten years ago. I hated working at a law firm, but thought there was something wrong with me. Fortunately, I worked with a coach who helped me realize that there wasn’t something wrong with me at all, I just needed to step into who I really am and realize that I’m here to make a difference in the world and I’d never do that working at a big law firm.

    I wrote a bit about this on my personal blog here: http://www.alexismartinneely.com.

    Sorry I didn’t get to see you at #ABAChicago Julie. Look fwd to connecting soon.

    Alexis

  9. Nicole
    Nicole says:

    I THINK that I am glad that I stumbled across this. I have been contemplating a career in law, scouting about the internet, looking at law schools, rumminating about it. I was a Teacher and it nearly drove me mad, having to contend with ungrateful, sarcastic teenagers all day whose primary purpose was to taunt the Teacher! My main reason for being compelled to law are wanting to “make a difference,” that is, wanting to practice environmental/animal rights law and/or public interest law. Secondly, I have a massive amount of student-loan debt, and would, of course, be accruing more if I went to law school. So, I would also like to make a substantial income and become solvent. Perhaps these two things are mutually exclusive, as I have heard that public interest and environmental/animal rights law is not the most lucrative. Anyway, after reading this I am questioning whether or not I want to pursue it after all. I am also a Creative Writer and would like to still have time and energy to do that at the end of the day, but am thinking that practicing law might not allow me that. Any specific thoughts related to my questions/concerns, anyone?

  10. Nicole
    Nicole says:

    I THINK that I am glad that I stumbled across this. I have been contemplating a career in law, scouting about the internet, looking at law schools, rumminating about it. I was a Teacher and it nearly drove me mad, having to contend with ungrateful, sarcastic teenagers all day whose primary purpose was to taunt the Teacher! My main reason for being compelled to law is wanting to “make a difference,” that is, wanting to practice environmental/animal rights law and/or public interest law. Secondly, I have a massive amount of student-loan debt, and would, of course, be accruing more if I went to law school. So, I would also like to make a substantial income and become solvent. Perhaps these two things are mutually exclusive, as I have heard that public interest and environmental/animal rights law is not the most lucrative. Anyway, after reading this I am questioning whether or not I want to pursue it after all. I am also a Creative Writer and would like to still have time and energy to do that at the end of the day, but am thinking that practicing law might not allow me that. Any specific thoughts related to my questions/concerns, anyone?

  11. Julie A. Fleming
    Julie A. Fleming says:

    Nicole,

    What a challenging decision you’re facing! The biggest issue I see is on the money right now. You’re correct that public interest law is typically not highly paid (though a few firms have been working on a new business model that could alter that, to some degree), and animal rights law is in the same category. What’s more, with the layoffs of the last 18 months or so, the market is saturated with highly qualified and experienced lawyers, which makes it more difficult for new lawyers to find a position. That certainly isn’t to say it’s impossible, and it’s hard to guess what the market will be in 3-5 years, when you’d be finishing law school, but it’s something to consider. Also, if you choose to apply, look *very* carefully at the school’s employment record, and be sure to ask for the percentage of graduates who are employed in the legal field at and within 6 months to a year following graduation. A good education is important, but having a job is (for most of us) critical.

    I just did a radio interview and we briefly addressed the decision about whether to attend law school. If you’re interested, you can find the recording here: http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=42543

    Whatever your decision, best wishes!

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