Spartan Lawyer Winter 2018

The HAPPY LAWYER

LEARNING FROM THE EXPERTS – AND FROM EACH OTHER

FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS.

Contrary to what you may hear from your colleagues, read on law blogs, or tell your spouse at the end of a long day at the office, lawyers are not the most depressed workers out there.¹ According to Nancy Levit and Douglas Linder’s The Happy Lawyer, comparative data indicates that most lawyers “fall somewhere near the middle of the happiness continuum,”² between physicians (happier) and accountants (less happy).

While that may be true, it’s certainly also true that law is often a highly demanding and stressful way to earn a living, and reported well-being varies greatly between differing types of lawyers. Burnout, substance abuse, and mental health issues in the legal profession have been the subject of major research from the American Bar Association.³

In this feature, we’ve explored some of the major scholarly contributions to the field of lawyer wellbeing, and what researchers suggest that you do to make yourself happier, regardless of where you are in your career.

We also reached out to a small group of our alumni to learn what practical insights they have to offer their fellow Spartan lawyers, and what brings them balance in life outside of the office.

It is practically a ‘given’ that great success – top grades, high salary, or a prestigious job – represent the fast track to happiness. This pervasive belief is false.

THE “WHY” MATTERS.

Many prospective law students are drawn to the profession by external signifiers of success: wealth, power, bespoke suits, and corner offices. A legal education will help some students realize those ambitions. But will it make them happy?

Not necessarily. If you’re driven solely by the prestige and wealth that you could earn as a lawyer, then happiness is likely to remain elusive. Lawrence Krieger and Kennon Sheldon’s landmark 2015 survey of 6,200 practicing lawyers found that lawyers whose work aligns with their values experience greater happiness.⁴

Their data indicates that it’s not any particular job itself that determines happiness – it’s the reason for taking that job in the first place. If you’re practicing law for reasons of self-realization or altruism, you’re likely to be happier than someone whose work motivation revolves around money or recognition.

For instance, if you became a patent attorney in private practice because you’re a passionate defender of innovators’ rights, then you’ll probably find happiness in the work. And if that job comes with an impressive salary and a corner office, then so much the better. But if you become a patent attorney specifically for that office and the accompanying paycheck, then you’re less likely to experience overall well-being.

HARNESS THE POWER OF CONVICTION.

Lawyers who serve the public interest can deal with emotionally wrenching, high-stakes cases and work long hours, sometimes in exchange for comparatively lower salaries. But research indicates that public interest lawyers are, as a whole, happier than their colleagues in more remunerative positions within law firms.⁵

David Thronson, MSU Law’s associate dean for Academic Affairs, isn’t surprised by that research finding. As co-founder of MSU Law’s Immigration Law Clinic, he witnesses firsthand the rewards of advocating for the underserved: his efforts directly advance outcomes that he cares deeply about.

That sense of purpose buoys him through devastating losses, and gives extra meaning to life-changing wins. “There aren’t a lot of zeroes attached to these cases,” David said. “But it’s highly consequential work, and you know why you’re doing it.”

He can see why lawyers who don’t experience that same sense of purpose might feel burnout in their work, regardless of how well they’re paid. “Law is hard. It’s not the easiest way to make a living,” said David. “If you only care about money, there are easier ways to get rich.”

But he also knows private practitioners who are similarly passionate about the impact of their work. And if any job starts to feel a bit stale, he’s quick to point out that lawyers at big firms can access the benefits of doing public interest work.

“For private practitioners, pro bono work can break them out of routines – the kind of legal work they typically do – and shift them into something different,” David observed. Solving a new set of problems for clients can inject fresh creative energy into a legal career.

LAWYERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO.

So, are lawyers different than other people? Does learning how to “think like a lawyer” in settings from the 1L lecture hall to the courtroom fundamentally reset your criteria for well-being? Ultimately, what makes lawyers happy?

As it turns out, the same things that make everyone else happy: purpose-driven work with some autonomy; supportive supervision; meaningful connections with clients, family, and friends; and a sense that you’re performing your work skillfully.⁶ Consciously deciding to build more love and trust into your life and to savor the small pleasures of your work can have a major impact on your overall satisfaction.

In the words of Levit and Linder, “it’s easier to be a happy lawyer if you are a happy person.”⁷

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¹ That would be roofers, only 14% of whom reported that they were happy. The happiest workers are members of the clergy, according to the same 2007 survey of 25,587 workers. [NORC at the University of Chicago, General Social Survey (2007).]

² Nancy Levit & Douglas O. Linder, The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law (2010), at 7.

³ American Bar Association, The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change (2017).

⁴ Lawrence S. Krieger & Kennon M. Sheldon, What Makes Lawyers Happy? A Data-Driven Prescription to Redefine Professional Success, 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev., 554 (2015), at 580.

⁵ Krieger & Sheldon, supra note 4, at 593.

⁶ Krieger & Sheldon, supra note 4, at 621.

⁷ Levit & Linder, supra note 2, at 18.