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On Lawyer Dissatisfaction

July 17, 2007 at 18:08 | Print This Post Print This Post

From Sathnam Sanghera of the Times, the single best explanation of lawyer dissatisfaction I’ve ever read. Why are so many lawyers so damned miserable? Gist:

  • the dehumanising hours
  • the yawning gap between their intelligence and the mind-numbing nature of their work
  • the yawning gap between the ideals of those entering the profession and the reality
  • the cumulatively lowering nature of the work
  • the vortex of hatred that envelops them entirely
  • the self-inflicted nature of their suffering

The piece is well worth the read, not least for Sanghera’s deft pen.

I couldn’t begin to count the number of lawyers I’ve met since I began practice who were utterly miserable in their work. For many, Sanghera’s piece would no doubt resonate. More coverage at the WSJ Law Blog.


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3 Responses to “On Lawyer Dissatisfaction”


  1. Vera (10 comments.)
    July 17th, 2007 at 19:20

    hmmm …do we think that this might be tangentially related to the fact that DC has the highest population of lawyers anywhere?

    (When I was in my 20s, many a lawyer I worked with would ask me if I was one as well. To some I would answer that I might have become one, but hadn’t, and was relieved (in retrospect) upon discovering what they actually *did* every day.)

    I do have much respect for those who rise into it rather than drowning under it.


  2. michael webster (14 comments.)
    July 18th, 2007 at 09:53

    Also, don’t discount the fact that most lawyers are super competitive -even in the field of whining about how bad their own life is. Without that attention, how could we persuade ourselves of our own extraordinary importance?


  3. Leigh (7 comments.)
    July 25th, 2007 at 00:39

    Are you saying that the exciting world of lawyering ala

    LA Law
    The Practice
    Boston Legal
    Law and Order

    It’s all, …. a lie? :-(

    (ps. There are so many interesting albeit not necessarily the best paying options for lawyers that want to feel passion about what they do - so pardon me for sounding a bit cynical but do we think the part about “the yawning gap between the ideals of those entering the profession and the reality” has to do with the reality of the choice they made to take the money vs. the the more meaningful change the world options?)