“I hate being a lawyer.” This phrase is uttered incredibly often among law professionals. If you are a lawyer who is feeling unfulfilled or under-appreciated in your current position, then you are not alone. Most attorneys change firms at least once or twice during their first 3 to 5 years of practice. Some of the main reasons why include not enough work, being on the wrong side of office politics, or hearing about a more prestigious opportunity elsewhere.
But successfully getting from point A to point B in the highly competitive legal profession starts with developing a solid action plan. If you’re ready to reboot your legal career, here are some reliable strategies to make it happen.
Steps to Take if You’re Considering Leaving Law
The good news is there is a way to regain your love of being a lawyer. You can also take solace in the fact that you are not alone, and there are many lawyers who may fall out of love with their job and profession. Here are several steps that you can take to regain your love for law:
- Take a step back – If you have vacation time, then this is the time to use it. Get away, as this allows you an opportunity to think more clearly.
- Assess your situation – Identify precisely why you are considering leaving the law profession. Create a list of the things you like and do not like about law.
- Assess your options – Next, create a list of possible alternatives to practicing law.
- Remember why you chose law – You should then get back to the basics. Create a list of reasons why you were drawn to a profession as a lawyer in the first place.
- Balance logic and emotion – As mentioned, lawyers have a tendency to make decisions with their heads. However, you should also not make a decision that does not make you happy. So, it is important to balance both logic and how you feel during the decision process.
- Make a decision – The hope is that you fall in love with being a lawyer again. If this is the case, then approach your return with confidence and passion. Find new ways to make your job exciting. You should also find ways to minimize stress (i.e., delegation, collaboration, etc.).
To further help with your decision-making if you are losing interest in being a lawyer, you should ask yourself the following questions.
Which Career Paths Interest You?
The first step is to compare what you’re currently doing with what’s out there. If it’s been a few years since you graduated law school, you may have forgotten about all the various career opportunities that are available to lawyers, including:
- Academia/Teaching
- Corporations
- Government Agencies
- Law Firms
- Legal Publishing
- Legislature
- Military
- Public Interest Organizations
- Private Practice
Once you’ve decided what area of the law you’d like pursue, it’s time to get the ball rolling.
Rekindle Your Passion: What Makes Me Passionate About Law?
Like any other profession, it’s easy for lawyers to get caught up in a day-to-day rut, especially if they’re making a comfortable living doing so. Visualize causes you used to be passionate about, whether it’s defending the less-fortunate, cannabis legalization, teaching law, or starting your own practice. Read lots of material on practice areas that interest you and reach out to your old law school classmates about what they like, or don’t, about their current jobs. Compile a list of two or three specialties that would help you rekindle that inner passion again.
Refresh Your Goals: What Are My Main Professional Objectives?
It’s never too late to set career goals, even if you’ve been practicing for 20 years. Sit down and write out your main professional objectives for the next five years. Although more money usually tops everyone’s list, yours should also include other considerations, like:
- Relocating to another part of the country (or world)
- Assisting others that have been wronged by corporations
- Championing environmental causes
- Being a law firm partner
- Starting your own solo practice
- Getting into politics
- Helping get promising therapeutic drugs to market, like for cancer
Think about what it would take to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Do you need some additional schooling or training? Are your background and experience contingent with your professional goals and how you’re marketing yourself?
Boost Your Marketability: How Can I Appear More Valuable to Employers?
The best way to start your career makeover is to work harder at your current job, not less. Why is that important? The more valuable you are to your current employer, the less you’ll need the job. In other words, you’ll appear more attractive and marketable to others in the profession, which could open-up some very rewarding doors in a specialty you’re passionate about. Other ways to boost your marketability include:
- Reach out to old contacts. It’s not what you know, but who you know, right? Reach out to some of the influential legal contacts you’ve made over the years, like judges, politicians, and law school professors. Once you start thinking about it, you’ll probably be surprised about how many powerful people you really know.
- Get out of your comfort zone. Learn how to network online more effectively by beefing up your LinkedIn profile and contacts, and even consider making a marketing video of yourself to post on various social media platforms and hiring sites.
- Know your strengths and weaknesses. Conduct a realistic self-assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses that a potential employer might see. If you have trouble speaking publicly but are interested in teaching or becoming a trial lawyer, you may want to polish up your communication skills.
Reasons Lawyers Stay in Jobs They Hate
Although it can be easy to focus on the disadvantages of being a lawyer, the fact is there are many benefits of being a lawyer. There are numerous reasons why a lawyer may question if being a lawyer is worth it. For instance, they may simply feel as if law is boring and not a challenge to them. In other cases, they may become overwhelmed by the responsibility, or they may feel as if the work they do is not rewarding enough. However, many who seemingly hate being a lawyer stay with their firm. There are many reasons this may be the case, such as:
- Fear of taking a step back with their career – The fact is leaving a job as a lawyer likely means taking a step back in the individual’s career, especially if they intend to change their profession entirely. This leads many to stay with their job for years, decades, or even until retirement despite not fully enjoying the work they do.
- They fear the unknown – We all have fears regarding uncertainty. Additionally, lawyers often have a tendency to need certainty in their lives. They crave clear answers and often think logically. Making a choice to leave the law profession because you hate being a lawyer is an emotional decision not based on logic. Subsequently, lawyers tend to side with the more logical solution of staying in their job.
- Unwillingness to go through a learning process – Changing professions is not only scary but is hard and time-consuming as well. For many law professionals, the idea of “starting over” is simply too much.
- A fear of wasting a law degree – Lawyers invest a substantial amount of money and time into becoming a lawyer (undergraduate, law school, internships, etc.). The fear of not using the degree and training they earned is certainly enough to scare many away from leaving the profession.
If You´re Having Doubts – Remember what you loved about being a lawyer in the beginning
Ultimately, you need to remember why you wanted to become a lawyer in the first place if you are asking if becoming a lawyer is worth it. This will help you get back to loving being a lawyer again and overcome any feelings that being a lawyer is stressful, boring, dangerous, or hard. For instance, many become lawyers because they want to help others, or they may feel as if it is the best way to put their knowledge, intelligence, and skills to the best use. You may also enjoy the opportunities that being a lawyer presents for you, such as higher salaries and more financial security and certainty.
You should never feel as if being a lawyer is too hard or as if being a lawyer has ruined your life (as is all too often the case). If the feelings are this intense, then it can help to take a step back. However, if the feelings of dislike are minor, then it may help to simply focus on the good of being a lawyer. For instance, ask yourself, “do I regret becoming a lawyer?” Oftentimes the answer is no, and then follow it up with thinking about the good things that come with the profession.
Consider Help from an Outside Source: Legal Recruiter
If you’re a lawyer who’s seeking a fresh career challenge, or you’re looking to hire one, another option you have is working with an experienced legal recruiter. Good legal recruiters excel at connecting talented attorneys to potential employers seeking various attorney specialties. They have the marketing insight, networking connections, and candidate-screening capabilities to place gifted lawyers in prestigious nationwide positions no matter their career objectives. To search for a better legal recruiter in your area, visit the Legal Recruiter Directory today.
