how to stop being a lawyer

There isn't a set method for quitting law, but I'm happy to share my experience and insight in case it may help others. 1) Accept your feelings. 2) Realize your feelings about work aren't a reflection of your work ethic. 3) Let go of the anxiety about what other people will think. 4) Forgive yourself for “giving up” Can I quit being a lawyer?

Full Answer

What to do if you don’t want to be a lawyer?

As soon as you know don’t want to pursue a legal career, deconstruct what you need to do to get from point A (law school) to point B (dream career), and then start making a plan to get there. On that note: 4. Leverage Your Network

Why do people quit being lawyers?

At that point, people tend to quit in search of a better work-life balance. Along with the long hours, you’ve got the constant pressure of trying to prevail in an inherently adversarial system. Add to that the fact that lawyers are often dealing with very serious, real-life problems.

Do you hate being a lawyer?

Alison Monahan wrote about legal careers for The Balance Careers. She is a lawyer and founder of The Girl's Guide to Law School. You spent three years in law school, suffered through the bar exam, secured a job as a lawyer …only to find that you’re miserable and hate being a lawyer.

Why do unhappy lawyers stay in law school?

For whatever reason, unhappy lawyers tend to be convinced they’ve got nothing to offer outside of the legal profession. But someone would have hired you to do something before you ever went to law school! Think back to the things you were rewarded for before law school.

Why do people quit being a lawyer?

Even worse than the long hours, in many cases, is the lack of control over your work and your schedule as an attorney. When you're subject to the whims of the court, the partners or other senior lawyers you work for, and client demands, the lack of control can become highly frustrating. This is why many lawyers leave.

Why is it not worth being a lawyer?

A sometimes stressful work environment When it's all said and done, a lawyer may end up spending 50 hours or more at the office each week. “Lawyers often have demanding schedules and heavy workloads, which may contribute to increased stress levels,” says the ABA.

What do you do when you don't like being a lawyer?

What to Do If You Hate Being a LawyerRemember the Time Before You Went to Law School.Get Serious About Your Finances.Give Yourself Permission to Explore Your Options.Considering Getting Support.

Is it depressing to be a lawyer?

The statistics are staggering: Lawyers are 3.6 times as likely to be depressed as people in other jobs, while the landmark 2016 American Bar Association and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation study found that 28 percent of licensed, employed lawyers suffer with depression.

Are all lawyers miserable?

Yes. Repeated industry surveys confirm that lawyers, particularly young lawyers, are increasingly unhappy. More concerning are growing numbers of lawyers suffering from severe anxiety, depression, stress and substance abuse problems.

Is it fun being a lawyer?

Being a lawyer can be very fun and very rewarding. But as the other posts have indicated it requires a lot of work, time, money, and attention to detail. As with most challenging things in life it can be well worth it.

What other jobs can lawyers do?

If you want to stay in the legal sector, you can use your skills in jobs such as:business development.writing or editing legal content.human resources.learning and development.journalism.marketing.public relations.recruitment.

How do you transition from a legal career?

Tips for Successful Transition from Traditional Legal Practice to an Alternative CareerKnow What You Do Not Like To Do. ... Have A Life Outside Of Being An Attorney. ... Consider Keeping Your Foot In The Door Of Traditional Practice. ... Focus On Your Finances. ... Have Thick Skin.

Is law a good career?

Law as a profession is in great demand these days. Due to the changing social and economic circumstances and the ever-increasing regulatory role being undertaken by the government there is a rising demand for the lawyers. Besides being financially lucrative, Law is an adventurous and exciting career option.

What career has the highest depression rate?

The Top 10 Jobs with the Highest Rates of DepressionPublic and Private Transportation (16.2%)Real Estate (15.7%)Social Services (14.6%)Manufacturing or Production (14.3%)Personal Services (14.3%)Legal Services (13.4%)Environmental Administration and Waste Services (13.4%)More items...•

What percent of lawyers are unhappy?

Studies show that 56% of lawyers are frustrated with their careers.

What mental health issues do lawyers have?

The most common symptoms experienced often to all of the time, included anxiety (61%), low mood (48%), and depression (29%). Some 29% said that they had experienced physical symptoms arising from work-related stress in the previous 12 months, with 22% feeling unable to cope and 6% reporting suicidal thoughts.

What are the fears lawyers have?

One of the most prominent fears lawyers looking to leave the law have is the impending interview they'll have with the hiring manager of a company. You may think they'll reject you, or think you're crazy for leaving the law. You may fear they'll ask you a ton of touch questions you feel you can't answer or be mean.

What does "Leave Law Behind" mean?

Leave Law Behind closes that gap for you.

Is being a lawyer a calling?

Even though being a lawyer may not be your calling, we know there is another "alternative" career out there for you that you can enjoy, make good money in and add through which you can value to others.

Do you mesh well with your lawyer co-workers?

You do not mesh well or trust your fellow associates or lawyer co-workers.

Will hiring freezes thaw?

Even in the COVID world, hiring freezes will soon begin to thaw and companies and organizations are moving to build for the future. This too shall pass!

Can you and are an attorney?

All that you do as an attorney (listen well, write clearly, present persuasively, be the adult-in-the-room, upsell clients, present to relevant stakeholders) is needed and called for in jobs outside of the law.

What is the good news about legal training?

The good news is that your legal training prepared you in many ways for this new challenge. For example, you know how to do research, you know how to work hard, and you know how to make an argument. Sure, your legal training taught you to make legal arguments, but you can use those skills on your own behalf, too, and make the case why you’re the perfect candidate for your next dream job!

Is it true that you're not happy in a small house?

Although it seems like you’d be far less happy in a smaller house or with a less expensive car, studies suggest this isn’t actually true.

Is law school all consuming?

Law school, and working as a lawyer, are so all-consuming that it’s easy to forget that you also used to be an accomplished, competent person with marketable skills. For whatever reason, unhappy lawyers tend to be convinced they’ve got nothing to offer outside of the legal profession. But someone would have hired you to do something before you ever went to law school! Think back to the things you were rewarded for before law school. It’s likely one of these skills or traits will be part of your post-law career path.

Do lawyers have to be realistic?

Lawyers also tend to catastrophize and fear they’ll end up living under a bridge if they quit their current job. While it’s important to be realistic about your finances, it’s also important not to be overly dramatic about the amount of money you truly need in order to live comfortably.

What is the former lawyer collaborative?

The Former Lawyer Collaborative™ is designed to help you answer one very important question: what could be an alternative career for me outside of the law?

What is a lawyer podcast?

A weekly podcast sharing honest conversations with former lawyers about their decisions to leave the law for different careers, plus advice and insight from my own experience. Know that you’re not alone and start developing an imagination for what’s possible. Listen on Apple , Spotify , Stitcher , Overcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts using the RSS feed.

What to know if you are in Biglaw?

Things you need to know if you’re exploring alternative careers for lawyers: If you’re in Biglaw, you’re not a failure because you’re human (even though Biglaw makes you feel that way ). If you’re trying to figure out what else you can do with your J.D., don’t rely on prestige ( it’s a liar ).

What is the only job with an industry devoted to helping people quit?

All the way back in 2014, lawyering was described as “the only job with an industry devoted to helping people quit.”

Why do lawyers use prestige?

And because the legal job market is so competitive, often lawyers and law firms use prestige as an artificial metric to weed out job applicants, confirming the idea that prestige is an inherent good.

Is Biglaw a failure?

If you’re in Biglaw, you’re not a failure because you’re human (even though Biglaw makes you feel that way ).

Is billable hour bad?

In short, the billable hour model is terrible for the people inside it.

What happens if you hate being a lawyer?

If you hate being a lawyer, you'll find a lot of support among your colleagues. A 2012 survey of the Washington state bar showed that 32 percent of its members are considering leaving the legal profession within the next five years. Research studies show high rates of depression, substance abuse and suicide among attorneys.The good news is that you have many options, including finding a different type of legal workplace, switching to a new law-related career or leaving the law altogether for another field.

What to do if you want to leave the law?

You could consult a career counselor or therapist who specializes in helping attorneys, known as legal career counselors, legal career coaches, lawyer coaches or attorney coaches. These counselors are often ex-lawyers with an in-depth understanding of attorneys' career problems. Career counselors can also administer tests to determine your aptitudes and interests in other fields.

What are the skills of a lawyer?

These skills include your abilities as a researcher, analyst, writer, negotiator, deal maker, problem solver, entrepreneur and counselor. Some lawyers start their own Internet businesses. Other attorneys use the listening skills they employed to recruit and retain law firm clients and become psychotherapists. Lawyers' abilities to do coherent presentations of complex information for clients and juries often make them good teachers.

The Rosy Past – Is Being a Lawyer Fun?

I entered law school at an inauspicious time – right after the bottom fell through the legal industry. Our dean, rather than give us rosy predictions of the riches we would soon accumulate, acknowledged what a difficult and uncertain time we were in. His commencement speech could be summed up as “good luck.”

Thinking About Quitting My Job

Then, I was put on a case, which was new and interesting at first, but quickly, turned toxic. I hated my boss, and so did everyone else. Five associates left our team in two years. Eventually, I was the only associate left. And I was doing the work of everyone who left.

Sometimes, Being a Lawyer Sucks

In April of 2018, a year before I quit, I had called my parents to let them know I was quitting. That was the first time I thought of spontaneously quitting. Instead, my parents urged me to stay until I had a new job. And here in February of 2019, I still didn’t know where to go or what to do.

My Future after Law

In January, I was excited to hear about two of my friends getting engaged. One was getting married in March, the other in July. One asked me to be her maid of honor, but my work calendar was nonstop trials.

My Legacy – Quitting a Job Too Soon?

I honestly thought that those that needed to work a “meaningful” job were naive or rich. But when you’re working 70+ hours a week, you start to think about what you’re giving up. You start to think of your legacy and the endpoint of all your struggles. Are you trading your life for something meaningful?

Leaving a Law Firm

In general, I don’t care about 95% of people’s opinions of me. But there were two groups whose opinion on my quitting gave me pause – my parents and coworkers.

Telling My Parents I Hate Being a Lawyer

A month before I quit, my mother called to tell me my brother was “in trouble.” I expected her to tell me that my brother had ended up on the wrong side of the mob. Instead, the “terrible” news was just that my brother might need to find a new job. My brother is a defense contractor so job hunting is typical.

1. We are Only Happy When We Win

I strove to succeed and when life happened (as John Lennon famously sang: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”) I felt like a failure. Actually, I was building a reputation for uniqueness and character which echoes whenever I go home, but it didn’t feel that way when my life was in shambles.

2. Without Support, We Stop Believing in Ourselves

I couldn’t carry my ego, my family, and my law firm indefinitely. Law firms should have cheerleading sessions to validate and support themselves and to recognize individual accomplishments – both professional and individual.

3. We Focus on the One Thing We Do Wrong – not the 999 Things We Do Right

I could not remember the multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements, I only thought about the lost summary judgment motions or other adverse rulings. Ironically, in my last trial, I won a million-dollar verdict on a contingency fee and quit shortly thereafter. I didn’t feel validated by the wins, I felt a failure for the losses.

4. We Believe We are the Weak Link in a Strong Chain

I could only think of the way I could not live up to my expectations. I was the fifth producer in a firm of 30 lawyers, and I felt like a failure. There were four lawyers who produced more than me and two of them were my father and brother. I believed that the fact that I was not producing more was evidence that I was a failure.

5. We Fear Failure More than We Desire Success

Most of my career was focused on failure control. I had multiple huge verdicts but the cases I lost made me feel like a failure even though I was producing millions in a litigation firm. I lost more sleep over the “long shots” than I could ever gain with the sure winners.

6. We Feel Inadequate when We Inevitably Lose an Unwinnable Case

Anyone who lives in the judicial system for a while learns that success has more to do with picking your cases than your character and integrity. I had both character and integrity and the respect of my peers (AV rated in Martindale-Hubbell) but felt inadequate because I didn’t have a 100%-win rate.

7. We View Failing to Win Every Case as the Signal to Quit

I have had a wonderful time in life since I quit practicing law. However, I always wonder what I could have achieved if I had applied some of the Eastern philosophy I have learned when I was practicing law. I made the decision to quit because I didn’t win every case and therefore I believed I wasn’t a very good lawyer.

Why do lawyers leave the profession?

Add the hours to the pressure and you’ve got a recipe for stress. Over time, without appropriate coping mechanisms, this stress can become unbearable, leading lawyers to leave the profession.

What is constant arguing?

The Constant Arguing. Some pressure is inevitable in the law, but much of it is created by the constant arguing that goes on—especially between litigators. Beyond the inherent arguing over precedent and facts in court, there’s the daily grind of arguing over legal matters.

Do litigators ever try a case?

Very few cases end up in a trial, and many so-called “litigators” have never actually tried a case. Most work takes place in writing, and much of your time will be spent alone in an office, thinking and doing research. Or, even worse, suffering through tedious document review assignments.

Is legal work boring?

Let’s face it, much modern legal work is pretty boring. If you went to law school with visions of giving frequently compelling opening and closing arguments in court and executing surgical cross-examinations on a regular basis, the reality of modern law practice might come as a harsh surprise. Very few cases end up in a trial, and many so-called “litigators” have never actually tried a case.

Do people love to argue?

Some people love this sort of thing, but many don’t. If you ’re not in the “I love to ar gue” camp , the weight of ongoing arguments can rapidly become too much.

Is law a 9 am or 5 pm job?

A law career is rarely a 9 am to 5 pm endeavor. After years of missed dinner dates and canceled vacations, the hourly toll of being a lawyer can start to add up. This strain can get to the point where no amount of money is worth it. At that point, people tend to quit in search of a better work-life balance.

Can a lawyer be alone?

Lawyers Aren't Alone. If you’re not sure law is for you, don’t despair. It might be possible to find a better fit within the law in a less demanding segment of the field. Or—worst case—you can join the legions of other disaffected attorneys who left for greener job pastures elsewhere.