A happy lawyer seems like from the genre of fantasy. A recent survey by CareerBliss unveiled that associate attorneys were the unhappiest professionals among those surveyed. And this is when they had the highest average salary of all the jobs included in the survey.
Why is that? Why are lawyers one of the unhappiest professionals when they have the prestige and money they opt to?
“Associate attorneys stated they felt most unhappy with their company culture,” Forbes piece’s Golledge said. “In many cases, law firms are conducted in a structured environment that is heavily centered on billable hours. It may take several years for an associate attorney to rise to the rank of partner”.
The structured routine of lawyer’s work deprives them of expressing themselves authentically. “I would become “Paula the lawyer” – the person I thought I needed to be to be successful in the law – rather than the person I really was who was already a success,” Forbes contributor says.
So, a lawyer becomes unhappy when he loses the sense of belonging, the sense of his/her true nature. Even when he or she has the money and prestige, it is the authenticity that makes him/her a real part of the legal profession.
It comes to the point when the lesser the control over legal professional, the happier a lawyer is. No wonder a lot of legal professionals now do freelancing or legal process outsourcing (LPO) working on a contract basis.
Contract attorneys have become the moral solution to the degradation of the legal profession. Only when you keep to work and life balance, you can enjoy the fruits of your profession without sacrificing personal things.
After all, as the old proverb says “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Seems impossible for a lawyer? It can be possible if you strive. Otherwise, you need to pay the price…
And since we touched this subject, here is a tool for legal freelancing. I am talking about a startup that has revolutionized the way appearance attorneys are hired. AppearMe is a web and mobile app that many lawyers use in order to find an appearance attorney. Sign up to the portal and may your journey in the legal world be prosperous!
