Finding Meaning as a Lawyer

Ohnoeshalpme

The trend on law school forums is that T14 into Big Law ought to be the goal for anyone who is pursuing a legal career. It is a fact that Big Law produces (generally) the least happy lawyers even when adjusting for income disparity, nonetheless Big Law seems to be the goal for an overwhelming majority of posters. Especially within top schools, there is a strong motivation to acquire a Big Law position.

For those of you who are convinced that Big Law is the career path for you, why?

If money was the same between Big Law and other paths, would you still choose Big Law?

youbbyun

there are a lot of ppl go to law school to pursue public service, public interest work, legislative work, international humanitarian law, etc.

i also don't think most ppl want to make Big Law a career. from what i hear, the odds of making partner are very slim to none, and it's a very bad work-life balance. most ppl i feel transition out of biglaw after like 3-4 years and go into gov't, in house, etc.

many ppl i feel go to biglaw straight out of law school for the training and professional development. but then later transition to other areas they're really passionate about (becoming a prosecutor/public defender, think tanks, etc.)

Alex

I'm interested in M&A/PE deal work and big firms are really the only shops that work on these deals. I also think it fits my skill sets well. Additionally, BL affords me some really unique experience and exit ops that are equally enticing. I'm also generally not someone really motivated by happiness. I'm just naturally pretty happy. I find the most meaning in achieving long term goals and big picture plans being put into action.

But I'd be lying if I said the BL compensation wasn't a huge part of that. So no, If the money was the same, I would likely just work in finance.

LSATisJustLikeDarkSouls

I think prestige has more than nothing to do with it.

Tom_Tango

money

westcoastbestcoast

Suffer now so you can live like a king later. Also I actually read that trial lawyers are the most depressed lawyers. Think about it, losing a case can mean a life sentence for the person you are defending. The stakes are surely high in biglaw but you dont often arent dealing with life changing outcomes unless you are in a litigation group.

Ohnoeshalpme

@westcoastbestcoast said:
Suffer now so you can live like a king later. Also I actually read that trial lawyers are the most depressed lawyers. Think about it, losing a case can mean a life sentence for the person you are defending. The stakes are surely high in biglaw but you dont often arent dealing with life changing outcomes unless you are in a litigation group.

"Suffer now so you can live like a king later" sounds like a good principle but the data suggests that the opposite is true. The more money you earn, the more your definition of "like a king" is going to change. This is the same reason why many wealthy lawyers don't feel like they are actually wealthy. Relative to many that they are associating themselves with (CEO's Hedge Fund managers, etc) they are poor. If you stay in big law and ultimately make partner which is the "kingly" goal, you're essentially "winning a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie" - Deborah Rhode. I'm not saying that you're wrong for believing this, the model is great for someone who really just loves pie.

Ohnoeshalpme

I'd also like to add that high stakes aren't the cause of unhappiness or a void of meaning, but rather a sense of autonomy and connectedness are what provide these things. Part of the reason that Big Law associates are so depressed is because their job provides them neither of these fundamental psychological needs. If you're a trial lawyer who is autonomous and believes that you are doing good work for those who need it, I can guarantee you are predictively more happy than a Big Law partner who lacks both of these things.

tringo335

While I am not 'Big Law or Bust', it is definitely not something I am opposed to. Frankly it's because of the $$$. Sure I could make that same amount of money doing something else like going into Medicine, Finance or Engineering but none of those tracks interest me or spark a passion in me that Law does. And just because most people don't last in Big Law doenst mean you can't make some serious cash for a few years, save up and then go into another sector later. I think it would be great experience, great opportunity and a great time to save some cash.... so why not?

Like @Alex said, sometimes your job doesn't need to be tied into your happiness. Don't get me wrong I definitely want my long term career to be something of meaning that changes society but there is so much you can learn from positions that are outside of your comfort zone. Take that experience and use the skills you learned to leverage another position.