Find Satisfaction in the Law: Columns

Find Satisfaction In the Law:
Taking Control over Your Career and Your Life

Current Column: Here's the Big Picture on Changing Jobs
Reading the columns in order is recommended to maximize satisfaction.

Column Title

1 Introduction
We assume that finding satisfaction in the legal profession is always possible: that it is a matter of "seek and ye shall find" rather than "trick or treat". Read about Ruth's present situation and consider the "stuff" of this feature - issues and questions.

2 Taking Stock: Evaluating Your Present Position
Take an EXERCISE entitled My Most Recent Work Experience to evaluate your work place based on a number of criteria.

3 Strategies For Self-Assessment
"Unless you take responsibility for your own assessment, you run the danger of drifting into someone else's future" A written self interview EXERCISE. Myers-Briggs and the Strong Vocational Interest Inventory.

4 Self-Assessment II: The Value of Not Killing a Mockingbird
"(Ruth) wondered about what a fundamental value is. It's more than a regulation, closer to a commandment, a principle which cannot be violated because to do so would be like killing a mockingbird - a sin? What are her fundamental values?"

5 Through the Looking Glass - Your Options in the Law
Although large firm practice captures the attention, nearly half of all lawyers in private practice are sole practitioners, and approximately two thirds are in firms or five or less lawyers" Take the EXERCISE. Circle or highlight every organization and topic which appeals to you.

6 A Firm Choice
To be in a position to promote yourself effectively and find a position you MUST be able, at some point, to 1) choose a setting. 2) select a field or industry within that setting and 3) describe in some detail the duties and responsibilities or a position you want and 4) defend your choices in terms of your basic values."

7 The Path Through Private Practice
Assume that there are three broad streams of legal careers, each with smaller tributaries. Two streams constitute the pursuit of litigation and corporate practice within either law firms or other organizations. The third includes all those working in more broadly defined "hybrid" roles. Your task is to try to anticipate and understand how your career will flow through this system."

8 Exploring the World of Small Firms That Represent Individuals
She knew she wanted to work for the under represented members of society but was uncertain whether she wanted to advocate for them in the courtroom or by using other approaches........What I learned as a part of the plaintiffs bar is that there are lots of jobs out there not in the traditional public interest agency mold where one can do work for everyday people and still make a reasonable living."

9 Law Letters
"All are trying to answer the question of another James, who wonders in the forum whether it is asking too much to enter the law hoping "to do some good, make a secure life style for family and be happy". It is a measure of the current status of the professions that these outcomes no longer seem assured."

10 Happy Lawyers
"The thread of the recent messages that most deeply concerns me is the sense that it is hopelessly difficult to find meaningful positions in and around the law".

11 In-House Counsel Jobs - A Myth?
If you want to work for a for profit or non-profit corporation - don't bother looking for in-house counsel positions. If you limit yourself in this way, you are probably overlooking at least 98% of the market for your services.

12 Time, Satisfaction and the Law
"From the forum letter, it appears that time weighs heavily on the writer for two reasons, one which relates to expectations of life in a profession, the other to the timing of a legal education in most students' lives."

13 Taking Control - How to Search for Satisfying Positions
Now that you are able to describe the duties of a position consistent with your goals and values and know the setting in which you want to work, you are ready to search for such an opportunity.

14 Enforcing the Legal Profession's Values in Law Firms

15 For Workplace Satisfaction, Lawyers Should Ignore Ads and Law Students Should Ignore On-Campus Interviewing
We would certainly hear from big firm associates in droves if we were to offer "concrete job opportunities with real employers" as you requested. We would also hear from small firm associates, solos, corporate counsel, law professors, DA's, law students and many other lawyers both employed or underemployed. Let me try to explain why they might expect such advice and why it isn't going to be offered.

16 Looking For Law in All the Wrong Places? Choosing the Best Law School

17 Darwin Among the Lawyers
What does evolutionary theory have to say about job satisfaction in the law? Is it survival of the wittiest? Or is it nature raw in tooth and claw? The evolutionary clue to satisfaction and survival in the law may surprise you.

18 Alternatives to Law School for Those Who Want to Be Lawyers
What does one gain from legal education in a graduate school as opposed, say, to a correspondence course or an apprenticeship? The graduate schools have, after all, come in for their share of heavy criticism, to the point of questioning their adequacy.

19 The New Associates: A Letter to Puzzled Partners
Observations of a law school career counselor on the concerns and expectations of the newest generation coming into the profession.

Guest Column Title A Lawyer and A Person
Introduction
"I am a 1995 graduate of the George Washington University National Law Center. .. In law school we learn that in order to be worthwhile, we have to try to make it into the biggest, highest paying, and most "prestigious" firm that will take us. ... We buy into this myth .. and we betray ourselves, our true dreams, talents and interests."

Belva Lockwood
"As a schoolteacher, she made half as much as the male schoolteachers and spoke out against this unequal treatment" (about 1860) ..She was turned down from a number of law schools that felt that she would be a distraction to the male students."

There Isn't Just One Answer
At the time I wrote the poem "There Isn't Just One Answer" I was still externally playing the 1L game of pretending that I was "keeping up" with everyone." .. I am sure some people wondered why I did not just drop out and leave them to drudge on without me."

Richard D. Kahlenberg
(The book) told me that it was OK for me to be Terri - to want to be creative, to want to utilize my law degree to influence the lives of others for the better, to want more than law firm life. This book was Broken Contract and the author was Richard D. Kahlenberg.

Anoja Bala Madison
I know someday Anoja will make a difference in the lives or many children. She has already made a difference in my life by making me feel special and by teaching me about the world and about myself.

Guest Column Title Your First Years as a Lawyer: An Owner's Manual
Introduction
Your First Years as a Lawyer "Why is satisfaction such an issue with lawyers?. Do accountants or physicians or goat-herders also worry about their vocations and their places in them?"

The Search for Satisfaction
"New lawyers should not be concerned with job satisfaction. OK ... Got your attention?!"

Where to Practice
"Law firms are the norm. That's where the clients are, that's where the salaries are, and that's where the prestige still is. Is that where job satisfaction is?

Planting Yourself Right
"Finding the right place...for you. Many lawyers find themselves doing work that does not take advantage of their talents.The first decision you must make -- in an affirmative way -- is to decide whether litigation or a transactional practice is more appropriate for you. This is a basic question, but it's amazing how little thought goes into it for many."

Balancing your Office Life...with your Personal One
A new lawyer must be careful to channel stresses and frustrations away from clients and seniors. ... Exercise and hobbies are useful options.

Guest Column: Fifteen Rules for Winning as a Junior Associate
"This article is intended to pass along some real-world advice about how you can win as a junior associate. It is the sort of advice that I wish I had had when I began my legal career."

Guest Column: Here's the Big Picture on Changing Jobs

Please check back for the next installment.

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Column	Title
1	Introduction We assume that finding satisfaction in the legal profession is always possible: that it is a matter of "seek and ye shall find" rather than "trick or treat". Read about Ruth's present situation and consider the "stuff" of this feature - issues and questions.
2	Taking Stock: Evaluating Your Present Position Take an EXERCISE entitled My Most Recent Work Experience to evaluate your work place based on a number of criteria.
3	Strategies For Self-Assessment "Unless you take responsibility for your own assessment, you run the danger of drifting into someone else's future" A written self interview EXERCISE. Myers-Briggs and the Strong Vocational Interest Inventory.
4	Self-Assessment II: The Value of Not Killing a Mockingbird "(Ruth) wondered about what a fundamental value is. It's more than a regulation, closer to a commandment, a principle which cannot be violated because to do so would be like killing a mockingbird - a sin? What are her fundamental values?"
5	Through the Looking Glass - Your Options in the Law Although large firm practice captures the attention, nearly half of all lawyers in private practice are sole practitioners, and approximately two thirds are in firms or five or less lawyers" Take the EXERCISE. Circle or highlight every organization and topic which appeals to you.
6	A Firm Choice To be in a position to promote yourself effectively and find a position you MUST be able, at some point, to 1) choose a setting. 2) select a field or industry within that setting and 3) describe in some detail the duties and responsibilities or a position you want and 4) defend your choices in terms of your basic values."
7	The Path Through Private Practice Assume that there are three broad streams of legal careers, each with smaller tributaries. Two streams constitute the pursuit of litigation and corporate practice within either law firms or other organizations. The third includes all those working in more broadly defined "hybrid" roles. Your task is to try to anticipate and understand how your career will flow through this system."
8	Exploring the World of Small Firms That Represent Individuals She knew she wanted to work for the under represented members of society but was uncertain whether she wanted to advocate for them in the courtroom or by using other approaches........What I learned as a part of the plaintiffs bar is that there are lots of jobs out there not in the traditional public interest agency mold where one can do work for everyday people and still make a reasonable living."
9	Law Letters "All are trying to answer the question of another James, who wonders in the forum whether it is asking too much to enter the law hoping "to do some good, make a secure life style for family and be happy". It is a measure of the current status of the professions that these outcomes no longer seem assured."
10	Happy Lawyers "The thread of the recent messages that most deeply concerns me is the sense that it is hopelessly difficult to find meaningful positions in and around the law".
11	In-House Counsel Jobs - A Myth? If you want to work for a for profit or non-profit corporation - don't bother looking for in-house counsel positions. If you limit yourself in this way, you are probably overlooking at least 98% of the market for your services.
12	Time, Satisfaction and the Law "From the forum letter, it appears that time weighs heavily on the writer for two reasons, one which relates to expectations of life in a profession, the other to the timing of a legal education in most students' lives."
13	Taking Control - How to Search for Satisfying Positions Now that you are able to describe the duties of a position consistent with your goals and values and know the setting in which you want to work, you are ready to search for such an opportunity.
14	Enforcing the Legal Profession's Values in Law Firms
15	For Workplace Satisfaction, Lawyers Should Ignore Ads and Law Students Should Ignore On-Campus Interviewing We would certainly hear from big firm associates in droves if we were to offer "concrete job opportunities with real employers" as you requested. We would also hear from small firm associates, solos, corporate counsel, law professors, DA's, law students and many other lawyers both employed or underemployed. Let me try to explain why they might expect such advice and why it isn't going to be offered.
16	Looking For Law in All the Wrong Places? Choosing the Best Law School
17	Darwin Among the Lawyers What does evolutionary theory have to say about job satisfaction in the law? Is it survival of the wittiest? Or is it nature raw in tooth and claw? The evolutionary clue to satisfaction and survival in the law may surprise you.
18	Alternatives to Law School for Those Who Want to Be Lawyers What does one gain from legal education in a graduate school as opposed, say, to a correspondence course or an apprenticeship? The graduate schools have, after all, come in for their share of heavy criticism, to the point of questioning their adequacy.
19	The New Associates: A Letter to Puzzled Partners Observations of a law school career counselor on the concerns and expectations of the newest generation coming into the profession.


Guest Column	Title A Lawyer and A Person
	Introduction "I am a 1995 graduate of the George Washington University National Law Center. .. In law school we learn that in order to be worthwhile, we have to try to make it into the biggest, highest paying, and most "prestigious" firm that will take us. ... We buy into this myth .. and we betray ourselves, our true dreams, talents and interests."
	Belva Lockwood "As a schoolteacher, she made half as much as the male schoolteachers and spoke out against this unequal treatment" (about 1860) ..She was turned down from a number of law schools that felt that she would be a distraction to the male students."
	There Isn't Just One Answer At the time I wrote the poem "There Isn't Just One Answer" I was still externally playing the 1L game of pretending that I was "keeping up" with everyone." .. I am sure some people wondered why I did not just drop out and leave them to drudge on without me."
	Richard D. Kahlenberg (The book) told me that it was OK for me to be Terri - to want to be creative, to want to utilize my law degree to influence the lives of others for the better, to want more than law firm life. This book was Broken Contract and the author was Richard D. Kahlenberg.
	Anoja Bala Madison I know someday Anoja will make a difference in the lives or many children. She has already made a difference in my life by making me feel special and by teaching me about the world and about myself.


Guest Column	Title Your First Years as a Lawyer: An Owner's Manual
	Introduction Your First Years as a Lawyer "Why is satisfaction such an issue with lawyers?. Do accountants or physicians or goat-herders also worry about their vocations and their places in them?"
	The Search for Satisfaction "New lawyers should not be concerned with job satisfaction. OK ... Got your attention?!"
	Where to Practice "Law firms are the norm. That's where the clients are, that's where the salaries are, and that's where the prestige still is. Is that where job satisfaction is?
	Planting Yourself Right "Finding the right place...for you. Many lawyers find themselves doing work that does not take advantage of their talents.The first decision you must make -- in an affirmative way -- is to decide whether litigation or a transactional practice is more appropriate for you. This is a basic question, but it's amazing how little thought goes into it for many."
	Balancing your Office Life...with your Personal One A new lawyer must be careful to channel stresses and frustrations away from clients and seniors. ... Exercise and hobbies are useful options.

Guest Column:	Fifteen Rules for Winning as a Junior Associate "This article is intended to pass along some real-world advice about how you can win as a junior associate. It is the sort of advice that I wish I had had when I began my legal career."

Guest Column:	Here's the Big Picture on Changing Jobs

Find Satisfaction In the Law: Taking Control over Your Career and Your Life

Latest Blog Posts

FindLaw Career Center

Find Satisfaction In the Law:
Taking Control over Your Career and Your Life