Just interested in people’s perspectives on this and in particular other lawyers! In particular recent grads (ie 6 or less years post admission experience…I have just over 3.5). It seems to be pretty common in New Zealand for many lawyers to be dissatisfied with what they are doing. Is this pretty common in other jurisdictions? If so, why do you think this is? The nature of the work? The hours? The boss? The clients? The pedantry required?
I think its a pretty much across the board universal phenomenon for anyone who works in a client driven consultancy type business.
When a client hires a consultant, a lawyer, an accountant…pretty much anyone who can do something he cannot do inhouse, he generally expects more than the consultant can deliver and the consultant generally oversells themself to win the business so you end up with a situation where the client is unhappy and bitching and the consultant is unable to meet their needs and ends up hating their job.
And bosses in this business are generally bigger assholes too because they bring in the clients with their bullshit sales stories and blame their employees when they can’t deliver.
I certainly don’t hate my job, but I’m not in private practice…I work for the government. I think if I had to worry about clients and billable hours, I would seriously consider changing careers altogether. I think most lawyers are dissatisfied with their job because of the adversarial nature of their practice and the time commitments involved.
I certainly don’t know the first thing about the legal profession in New Zealand, but perhaps a change to a different type of practice may make you happier. What type of law are you currently practicing? Most recent grads here in the US have difficulty working for the government or not-for-profit agencies because the pay sucks and they owe too much in student loans.
I’m in private practice so I get to choose my clients, my hours, my salary, the location of my office, what I wear to work, my co-workers… Occassionaly I have to roll in the mud with opposing counsel but that just makes it more fun. All things considered it’s a pretty sweet deal. It was tough paying the rent when I first started but now I have as much work as I want. All that to say if could do it over I would go with my first love and fly airplanes for a living.
If you are unhappy get out now because it will only get worse for all of the reasons you mentioned.
“I think its a pretty much across the board universal phenomenon for anyone who works in a client driven consultancy type business”
It’s not just consultancy types jobs. Pretty much any job at the entry level is pretty crappy. There are exceptions, of course, but the first years of the military suck, the first years of being a doctor suck, the first years of training to be a chef suck, etc, etc. One you get more invested, more skills, more networked, etc, the jobs tends to suck less, in general.
All that, of course, assumes you’re in the right job field to begin with.
I wasn’t really commenting on my own position…
I do actually enjoy the area I work in (employment law…employment is not ‘at will’ in NZ) and I have worked for the government.
To an extent I found working for the government even worse, as you had to deal with a large amount of bureaucracy, and this made it very difficult to seek creative outcomes or settlements. I guess it depends on what it is you are doing for the government though.
My best friend ended up living in a very remote place working as a public defender. While in law school, she planned to steer her career towards environmental law. Needless to say, the toll of defending drunks and wife beaters took its toll, and 5 years after law school graduation she walked into her boss’s office and quit. No notice. If that’s not burnout I don’t know what is.
What does she do now?
Put me in the definitely don’t hate my job group. Although I’m also a government lawyer (and am 12 years out), I did do the private sector thing for a couple of years. I agree with the other government guy who said he’d probably hate the job if he had to worry about clients and billing. I can tell you, that’s exactly why I left private practice both times I was in it. It’s not so much the clients themselves as the total lack of control I felt when working for private sector clients.
Everything in the private sector is driven by money. You might have a great case, but if it’s going to cost your client $30k to win it and the plaintiff will settle for $20k, the client will (usually) settle. With the government (and here, I mean the State of Texas in my case), I don’t have to worry about costs (to a degree). We’ll settle the bad cases, but most of my clients – State agencies (who are handed to me rather than wooed by me) – don’t mind going to trial because they know that if they lose, the legislature, not the agency, will be responsible for coming up with the money to pay the judgment. Likewise, I find that state agencies are much more willing to listen to my advice on litigation strategy than private sector clients are. Everything seems personal to private sector clients, whereas my state agency clients seem to understand better that lawsuits are just a fact of life. (I, too, handle employment-related cases, along with civil rights matters).
To be sure, government work has its headaches too . . . the beauracracy is one major headache (as is the low pay). However, my greatest satisfaction is having autonomy over my own case load. I get to make the decisions on what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. I don’t have to run everything past my “senior partner,” nor do I have to have everything I do reviewed by six different lawyers. In private practice, you do somebody else’s work for 7-10 years before you make partner, and then you spend the rest of your career trying to get new business while keeping your old clients happy – which usually means a lot of sucking up and capitulating to their concern over how much everything costs.
Give me the government work any day of the week. It feels more like the pure practice of law to me, whereas private practice seems more like the business of law.
I’ve been a lawyer for 30 years. Law firm, solo practice, and now I’m an elected DA for the last 15 years. My job is great,except for facing election every 6 years. I’ve only had opposition once, though, and that was a long time ago. I have broad discretion, I’m the one and only boss in my office, and don’t have to worry about billing, overhead, etc. I also believe in what I am doing, and enjoy it. The first 5 years I was a lawyer, there were times when I wished I had gone into something else. Once you settle in, find your niche, and achieve mastery, it’s sweet!
I am formerly an elected prosecutor (County Attorney), now in private practice. There are good and bad with all aspects of law. I like being a lawyer a lot better than being a politician and administrator. When I was County Attorney I felt like the courtroom was a sanctuary from the office with it’s budget and staffing issues. My favorite time as a lawyer was as a Deputy County Attorney when it was all new to me. also no worries about election, billing, overhead…
I think I can comment on this one as I was admitted in January of this year.
I am in Private Practice with a small firm (5 Attorneys) in what most people would consider a “small town” - but a small city is more appropriate.
There are parts of the job I really enjoy. There are parts of the Job that suck. A lot of it depends on your employer and how your boss(es) run the office. If they are breathing down your neck for billable hours and a 100% happy client result, then you will be fried really quick. On the other hand, as in my situation, it has been the opposite. All of the other associates and the firm partners realize that I am not a seasoned attorney and still learning. They have been good about ramping up my workload as I get more comfortable with courtroom situations and certain types of work. They did not expect me to just show up and be a superstar associate. These things take time, you have to get in there, take your lumps, realize that 99.9% of other lawyers know just as much as you do and build your confidence. I don’t have a yearly billing requirement, so that helps decrease the stress. Also, I am not required to rainmake (bring in clients), so any clients I do bring in is gravy.
One part that does suck as a Triathlete who likes to micromanage my time and schedule is the hours. Especially in private practice. When you first start (unless you are some type of legal prodigy) you will be beating the path to the local town and city courts taking on ‘smaller’ claims to get acclimated. This means night court in addition to any other work thrown your way. Basically, you stay around until the work gets done, which is usually a minimum 10 hour day.
All said, I am pretty happy with my current position. The jury is still out on whether or not three years of torture (aka law school) was worth it.
i think it all just depends on if you like the area you are in. i just was admitted to the bar this past November, so i’m new at practicing as are a lot of my friends. my friends that work for large firms and get paid the big bucks like it, but they realized going into it that the firm would be their life. they literally don’t leave work before 10pm on weeknights and are in there every weekend. these people knew what they were getting into though and love what they are doing and are getting great experience. some of them are starting to get annoyed with the hours, but overall they realize they have to suck it up for a few years and then it will get a little better. as for me, i work for a litigation firm with 11 attorneys. the hours aren’t too bad. it seems as though when people are on trial that is when the hours are really bad. because i don’t have my own case load yet, i’m in a different situation. however, i will say this. even the guys around here who work really long hours seem to really like it because they are so passionate about their cases and really want to help our clients.
so, i guess the answer is no i don’t think all lawyers hate their job and i know that i don’t!
She is currently unemployed. She’s pretty hosed in terms of leaving, as her husband’s career isn’t portable (or at least he isn’t, but that’s another story all together). There is one private law firm in town, but their three lawyers are already stretching to make three part-time positions out of the small amount of work available. There are Native interests in the area, but they all have attys who are from the local tribes. There is a position open for an attorney at the local hospital, but she feels that the organization is too morally bankrupt to work for. The economy in the area is too poor to support private practice lawyers. She is currently waiting for a position as clerk of civil court to open, and she plans to apply for it. Pretty amazing to put a JD in what is essentially a job that’s been done (very ably, I might add) by a woman without a college degree. Her eventual goal is to open a cafe/bakery. It will be very interesting to see what shakes out for her, as she is literally in a place that can only be reached by 737, boat (only when there is no ice), or dogsled.
Good luck.
I am not a lawyer, but I can tell you about one that hated to be a lawyer and got a divorce from me so that she could move to Chicago to live with her college friends and feel like she was in college again. Last I knew the bit** was working as a headhunter for some insurance company, living in a nice apt. that I spent a fortune to get her into and furnish and driving the f-ing acura I bought her. Sorry you do not want to get me started. Advice do not ever marry a lawyer without a prenup!
No - but I left private practice and took and appointment as an Administrative Law Judge. Less pay, but people tend to do what I tell them to do 
- john
wow, that’s moving. I am going to send you ALL of my referrals now !!
. . . feel like she was in college again.
Substitute “social worker” for “lawyer” and you just described my ex. I feel your pain.
Social workers. Ahhh…they are indeed a particular breed (well some of them)…
And people think lawyers can be difficult to deal with!
My mother didn’t hate her job as a lawyer till she got sick and had to retire. Afterward it clicked that she really didn’t want to work anymore (and she hasn’t)