You won’t get any disagreement from me. Lawyers suck! And I’m a lawyer myself… Lawyers are definitely not a happy bunch

The legal profession really needs a good exposing. Prospective law students need to be fully informed about the ramifications of their decisions to attend law school. Jobs are not as plentiful as they may appear and the profession is utterly saturated with an abundance of aspiring young attorneys with little to no experience to speak of.

One of my former classmates is a drug addict and an alcoholic. Another guy started taking prescription-strength sleeping pills before he quit his firm job. Another pays for prostitutes and does drugs on a regular basis. All tier 1 graduates, some of whom now clock in over $100K per year. Is the money really producing any satisfaction, fulfillment or happiness for these people? Not really. One guy enlisted a psychologist who said flat out, lawyers on a whole are the least happy professionals. Does this tell you something?

Even a tax professor, during prospective student day told me that most of these incoming students have no idea what they are getting themselves into. In so many words she was telling me to get out and go away while I still had the chance. Did I listen to her wisdom? Nope. Should I have listened to her wisdom? Probably. 2 years out of school and I have had a whopping total of 4 months work experience. I have gone on interviews and turned down in favor recent college graduates. Did I mention these were entry-level positions where the interviewers told me that the skills are all learned on the job? Again, does this tell you something?

Following graduation, I passed the bar right away, but it took me a year and a half to find a job. It paid only $40k, but it was a clerkship. Not the prestigious federal kind, but still, a superior court clerkship. I spent 3 years there as it was open ended. There was NO provision for raises, but it was a steady gig and after my prolonged unemployment, I was nervous about making a move. I also read 2-3 years was common for state level clerkships. I took a second bar exam my third year, as I had the work down pat and had lots of extra time. Picked up the second bar and looked for work in either state. I got what I thought I wanted. Over night, my income doubled to $80k. BUT, the job did not work out. Those billable hours are killers in more ways than one. I expected to be working long hours to make them. What I had never heard about was how hard it could be to make hours when you are not given enough work. I had been hired by a corporate officer of the firm and sent to a different office. My new ‘boss’ was ticked I was hired without consulting him and he clearly didn’t want me there from the beginning. If he didn’t give me work–and believe me, I BEGGED for it–I couldn’t bill. Of course, things blew up in my face and I chose to leave on my own terms. About two weeks after I resigned, they started talking about a recession on the news. This was in April of 2008. I haven’t worked a day or earned even a penny since then.

I would say I fall somewhere in between the author and the overly enthusiastic cheerleader for the legal community. In part I went to law school by default and in part I went out of interest. I knew I wanted a job where I had a lot of independence, though I didn’t have a burning desire for law specifically. I took a lot of personality tests and ‘lawyer’ kept coming up as a good profession for me. At the time, I had a strong desire to work on gender harassment and discrimination issues. Thus, being a lawyer seemed to make sense. And if I could get work in this area, which I have trained for and did do an internship with the EEOC, I think I might be happy. But as the author said, there’s just so little work to go around. Even with my strong, sincere interest and small amount of experience, I am struggling in finding work. Yes, it is more difficult now that I live in a more rural area, but that was what I wanted and the way things worked out. I hated living in a large city where I did during my clerkship and my first attorney job. In fact, I thought lawyer was a good job as (at the time) I didn’t mind committing to just one state but I figured lawyers would be needed anywhere within the state, even rural areas. Then, after I lost my job, my husband got a great offer where we live now. He’s paying all the bills, with my loans in deferment for now. But buying a house? Affording kids? Having anything in the way of a livable lifestyle? Forget about it. Not to mention the depressing, mental stress I’m under from being unemployed for so long, just waiting for more and more newly minted lawyers to be cranked out of law school. I know I can do more. I’ve even proven it in my clerkship, but if the jobs aren’t there, they just aren’t there. And in the legal profession, this is becoming more and more true each day.

I don’t know. If you have a burning passion for the law, consider law school. But I said CONSIDER only. Don’t just go with a dream in your head and a twinkle in your eyes. If you are reading this before you’re in law school, lucky you! Now that you have heard some cautionary advice, research the issue further. Really look into things and consider your options carefully. Also, be aware that in law school, grades really matter. If you are struggling after year one, or maybe even semester number one, it might be best to drop out. Even years out, many, many employers will want to know your GPA. In one interview, I had someone yell at me when I tried to keep from giving it and focus instead on my WORK EXPERIENCE, you know, like a normal human being who has now worked for 3 full years in the field. At the time, I really didn’t know the GPA for certain, so I wasn’t lying and I had to estimate it. Now, it is burned in my mind. Makes me so mad that I’m reduced to that–just a GPA. Makes me even madder I’ve only received one interview in a year and three months. Most of the time, I get ignored. I sent out blind resumes when we moved here in November. Only one older attorney with his own practice bothered to write me back. It is a hard market and hard times for most industries, including the law. Why add tons of student loan debt to the pressure?

Yeah I always found it odd that pharmacist degrees don’t require a BA or BS degree to obtain. How can one seriously consider a pharmacy degree a doctorate degree then? From what I know about the pharmacy profession (especially after having dated a pharmacy student before), pharmacists make a decent amount of money right off the bat after their 4 years of pharmacy school, particularly if they go into retail which means they are working at CVS or Rite Aid and filling out pill bottles. However, pharmacists have very limited upside in their professions…their salaries start hard and fast, but the income ceiling is rather low. Thoughts?

I hope you are attending a top tier law school….if not, well…good luck on the job hunt.

Well, you’re in luck. Computer science and technology based jobs are still in hot demand. While all employment positions across all sectors are being hit hard by the current economic slump, health related (physician and nursing jobs) and computer related positions are doing relatively and comparatively well.

There is currently a healthy supply of computer jobs for the applicants out there. The downside is that you may have to compete with slightly more qualified individuals vying for more entry level positions. The salary package for computer jobs varies greatly depending on industry, experience, and geographical location. But I would think $50,000 minimum is very possible in most cases.

But if you can, I’d advise you to get a few more years of advanced computer training and certifications to beef up your resume. While computer science applicants have it easier in this market than others, job pickings are not as great as they were a few years ago. Your best bet is to stay in school and ride this recession out for a few more years if possible.

I work with a delightful bunch of folks and, I assure you, we are very happy people. We love our jobs and do not view our work as “finding faults.” Rather, I am a truth-seeker and, as an officer of the court, charged with responsibility for making sure that I present the information I find in good faith so that justice can be done. I practice employment law and it is endlessly fascinating because it involves the actions of human beings and their motivations.

Again, I strongly urge your readers not to take negative comments posted here at face value, as they are NOT representative of all lawyers’s feelings, activities or goals.

I spent the first 15 years of my career handling civil rights cases (harassment, discrimination, retaliation). I am proud of the work I’ve done and will always consider myself a civil rights attorney, even though I am now on the labor side. Why? Because at the end of the day, it is all about what is RIGHT and assuring that justice is done.

As a part time lawyer myself, I don’t derive any real pleasure from my line of legal work – preferring to get my life’s joys from familial, relational, and hobbyist pursuits. The whole corrupted and profit driven business of law schools and law firms certainly exacerbates the social problems as well.

I applaud your willingness to acknowledge that you “made a misguided choice in life that [you] need to rectify now” and taking responsibility for your own actions.

The profession is not “inherently broken,” but there are problems just as there are with any profession.

Much of what you describe about the conditions for new lawyers is accurate, however, there are vast regional variations so your generalizations are not helpful to a coherent, focused discussion about how to rectify matters.

Yes, I am well aware of the entry level job market situation in my area. I work with student interns who keep me abreast of current conditions. They are graduating from the best schools with debt well in excess of $100,000 — closer to $150-160k in many instances — and jobs are not plentiful. However, they do not start at $40k per year and there are many opportunities for those who graduate from excellent schools with good grades. (I do not recommend that anyone attend a non-ABA school.) Many are starting at well over $100,000/year. Do they have to work hard for that money? Yes. Are they jobs, for the most part, that I would ever be remotely interested in? NO. I did not start out in a library reviewing contracts, waiting 7 years or more to get my shot at a courtroom. But I graduated from a top-notch school, paid back the student loans, and found a good job in a firm where my prior experience as an accountant was valued & I was allowed to take on many responsibilities immediately.

Opportunities exist, but, as with anything else, the individual looking for that opportunity has to be diligent, focused, and informed.

Moreover, the best route is to thoroughly research where those opportunities are and, more importantly, whether working in a particularly profession is compatible with one’s skills, abilities, and interests.

I stand by my negative comments completely (100%) but I know there are indeed many out there that enjoy the practice of law. However, it’s not for me and the vast majority of young attorneys (friends of mine) I know intimately. I know very, very few young attorneys who are truly satisfied with their jobs. Those who entered the legal profession before the recent decade and before the recent severe saturation have had it much easier.

It’s not being bitter, but a realization that I made a misguided choice in life that I need to rectify now. Despite a desire to perform hard work, an initially fresh and eager outlook, and despite the job resources available, certain professions and careers are inherently broken due to societal issues at large. The supply of lawyers is drastically outpacing the work available. There is something seriously wrong when an attorney, a few years out of law school, and saddled with $100,000 in student loans has to take on a 70 hour per week legal position, earning only $40,000 a year in a major city, and still has to fight off other new attorney applicants who are willing to work for much less.

I just don’t want people falling into the same misguided trap that I did. JHS, I respect your views greatly, but I don’t think you have taken a look at the entry level attorney job market situation in the last 5 years. It’s abysmal.

Not ALL lawyers come to the profession in such a lackluster, unfocused fashion. It might be more beneficial to write an article about how one should choose a profession. You might encourage your readers to research the various types of legal practice available as career choices, interview real lawyers, ask to shadow a lawyer for a day or two, attend legal career fairs/days, meet with a few local judges and get their perspectives, visit several different law schools — preferably in different tiers — and discuss the academic requirements, job placement services available, etc. Someone considering law school should investigate financial aid options, primarily scholarships.

I’m sorry that your career as an attorney has turned out not to be rewarding. Obviously, it is the wrong career for you.

But your generalizations about other attorneys and the legal profession as a whole are unfair, unfounded, and do a great disservice to your readers, especially those who are contemplating a legal career.

It is possible to be called to the practice of law in precisely the same way that folks are drawn or called to other professions. I know because I have written about the fact that I was, simply put, born to be a lawyer.

My experiences are far different than yours and I encourage anyone seriously considering the practice of law to do the requisite research before jumping in with both feet.

If your readers want to read about law from an entirely different perspective, I invite them to peruse some of the articles on my site: (link)

If they want to learn about what it is like to be called to a profession and follow one’s destiny in a manner that allows you to truly make a difference, they can check out (link) or (link).