The Law Is Bad For You?
Some of my nearest and dearest are, have been, or will be lawyers. I put it to you: does this essay speak truth?
Via the Volokhs.
For what it's worth, I think a very similar essay could be written about being a doctor. Come to that, a fairly similar essay could be written about being a research scientist.
Moral of the story: there ain't no free lunch, kids.
Too bad. I was getting hungry.
Via the Volokhs.
For what it's worth, I think a very similar essay could be written about being a doctor. Come to that, a fairly similar essay could be written about being a research scientist.
Moral of the story: there ain't no free lunch, kids.
Too bad. I was getting hungry.
Posted by sealionii on
Wednesday November 21, 2007 at 2:38pm
I have some experience with law myself; getting certified as a paralegal, and working with two different firms. I never worked in litigation, unlike the author of the post, but the general complaints are still the same.
1) The jobs DO suck. Even if you get into a good field (my immigration experience was a good kind of law, for me), it's the kind of job that can go home with you. Not like a fuzzy puppy in your suitcase, but like a hazy black blob that hovers behind your head, where your eyes don't go. It's the kind of job where 40 hours a week is part time. It's a job where if you have to photocopy for 20 hours a week, or deal with a client who is calling upset every thirty minutes for two weeks because if the case doesn't come through their life will fall apart, it can really start to strain you. (Not just paralegals have to do that.)
2) The moral ambiguity really bothered me, and I was in a firm where there was hardly any
fudgingrigorously creative interpretation to be done. I chafe horribly at being asked to even tacitly be involved with something out of step with my little set of soapboxes. Devil's advocation for a social debate is one thing. Making it part of your daily work product is another.3) Living by six-minute increments puts strain on associates, especially; I've seen that. And
4) There are plenty of sitatuions where you have to make little choices between you, the firm, and the client. Not just in time accounting, but in many other ways.
5) Despite that I thought it would be otherwise, many of the people attracted to law are the kind of people I am not attracted to.
This is all a fairly topical rehash but I think there's a lot of truth to the points in the article and wanted to reiterate a couple of 'em. Thanks for the link.
I have often thought this is true about doctors and it's why I never wanted to be one or to be with one. I can definitely attest it's true for schoolteachers of young children (the other depressed set of workers cited in the article).