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Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:07 pm
by anonanonny
If you are, what is it about practicing law (or your life outside of it) that keeps you happy?
If you're not, what keeps you going?
(I've been interested in this topic even more since having a class discussion on law student unhappiness and thought I'd put it out there.)
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:10 pm
by TLSModBot
Happy, but I wouldn't call what I do practicing law (transactional work)
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:54 pm
by FullRamboLSGrad
Generally yes. I like the structure of the work, that is, I have deadlines to file things instead of hours I need to be somewhere.
I don't like the job market, not that it sucks, but that "prestige" is a moniker instead of work product and happiness.
There was a time I worked in a role where I reviewed a lot of appellate and petition level writing. The big firms do work just as sloppily as small firms. In fact, often I found it was worse and often disingenuous.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:12 pm
by northwood
i like helping people solve problems and have ( to them their) complex issues resolved.
but I hate the stress, pressure and b-s that comes with it.
working with great attorneys helps a ton
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:20 pm
by zot1
Generally, yes. My work is well-regarded, challenging, and diverse.
But more importantly, I have tons of free time to binge watch on Netflix.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:58 pm
by ballouttacontrol
Yea it's solid. Some rough weeks but overall hours aren't too bad and I make way more money than I could doing anything else I know of. I ball out pretty hard not frugal at all and my net worth is still climbing pretty steadily. Might start to grind on me in a few years but we'll see
The compete autonomy to dip out of work whenever I want or work from home or take a random Tuesday to go skiing are great
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:19 pm
by sener212
anonanonny wrote:If you are, what is it about practicing law (or your life outside of it) that keeps you happy?
If you're not, what keeps you going?
(I've been interested in this topic even more since having a class discussion on law student unhappiness and thought I'd put it out there.)
No. And, money.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:28 pm
by Tiny Rick!
Nope.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:36 pm
by kellyfrost
anonanonny wrote:If you are, what is it about practicing law (or your life outside of it) that keeps you happy?
If you're not, what keeps you going?
(I've been interested in this topic even more since having a class discussion on law student unhappiness and thought I'd put it out there.)
Yes. What keeps me happy? The work, the people, the learning, the challenges, the ability to help people. If you step back from your job and think about your skill set, the skills you have developed, and what your job consists of, it truly is an interesting and unique way to earn a pay check.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 1:17 am
by dixiecupdrinking
Not really, but honestly, it beats most other white collar jobs.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 1:32 am
by Nebby
Happy
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 1:44 am
by RedPurpleBlue
zot1 wrote:Generally, yes. My work is well-regarded, challenging, and diverse.
But more importantly, I have tons of free time to binge watch on Netflix.
What sort of work do you do, if I might ask?
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:25 am
by Civilservant
I enjoy the practice. I litigate trials and argue appeals, which are both rewarding. I enjoy my coworkers, we have at least a few laughs per day. The best part is that I'm home for dinner every night, which keeps my family strong.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 9:18 am
by zot1
RedPurpleBlue wrote:zot1 wrote:Generally, yes. My work is well-regarded, challenging, and diverse.
But more importantly, I have tons of free time to binge watch on Netflix.
What sort of work do you do, if I might ask?
Government.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 9:28 am
by Anonymous User
Very. I'm a public defender. I love my clients, and the fact that I am able to make a difference in someones life (no matter how small) every single day.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 10:30 am
by Anonymous User
Am I happy practicing law? No.
What keeps me going? My six figure debt.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 10:46 am
by Anonymous User
Not happy with law, but I honestly don't know what else I would do.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 11:45 am
by Anonymous User
I love it.
I love being in court/trial everyday; I am constantly learning and improving my practice.
Everyday brings its own interesting story/development, successes, and setbacks. I enjoy working with detectives and having a meaningful impact on my community, victims of crime, and those I prosecute.
It's an honor to say I represent my state and awesome to have a mission of striving for justice.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 11:53 am
by timmyd
Not really. I loved clerking, though. I don't mind the law in the abstract; I just hate the nuts and bolts and ever present grind of litigation.
A fear of failure and a realization that I have no other real skills keeps me going.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:26 pm
by jchiles
I'm happy and think its better than anything else I would have been doing by this age but there are times when it would be cool to have a job where you can just space out and take it easy w/o having to make up the time later.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:26 pm
by Anonymous User
No at all, but hoping moving to a smaller firm in a small city and changing practice areas will help ..... praying
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 1:44 pm
by Anonymous User
Not at all. I'm not sure what else I can do but litigation though.

Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 3:40 pm
by Anonymous User
I love getting yelled at and living in fear of my superiors.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 10:06 pm
by Anonymous User
on the whole, no. i keep going because of debt and family that needs supporting.
there are some positives - what i do is intellectually challenging, there are some people i like working with, etc. there are just more downsides and they're more severe. too much work; the work really doesn't matter; i don't have time for things i really care about; etc.
Re: Are you happy practicing law?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2017 10:17 pm
by andythefir
Anonymous User wrote:I love it.
I love being in court/trial everyday; I am constantly learning and improving my practice.
Everyday brings its own interesting story/development, successes, and setbacks. I enjoy working with detectives and having a meaningful impact on my community, victims of crime, and those I prosecute.
It's an honor to say I represent my state and awesome to have a mission of striving for justice.
⅓ of the way through I began suspecting this poster was a prosecutor, and then they confirmed it. Being a prosecutor is a blast, best job I've ever had. Basically nothing about my job has anything to do with anything in law school. It's 95% paper and people management, but you develop a ton of meaningful and impactful skills along the way. By contrast, when I was never less happy in my life than when I was in a big-ish firm.