Leaving the Law is a community for those who are unhappy practicing law. It is written by Jennifer Alvey, a recovering lawyer. She is a graduate of Duke Law School, where she was an articles editor on the Duke Law Journal. After clerking on a federal appeals court in DC, she jumped into BigLaw at at top 10 DC firm. By the end of her first year there, she was crying every day on her way to work. Mind you, that did not stop her from practicing law. Only 4 jobs later did she finally realize that the problem was not the firm where she worked, but working at any law firm. Eventually, she got a job with a legal publisher, and has been much happier in the 8 years she has spent in publishing.
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Jennifer:
Thought you might enjoy this blog about attorneys as authors and law firms as publishers:
http://misterthorne.org/set_in_style/
Enjoy!
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(415) 285 – 5777
I just came upon this site and want to applaud you for the courage to leave law. I coach all types of lawyers and practiced law myself for 5 years. My partner in coaching and training also worked in the government and for several large firms before leaving. We both found more meaning in other careers that harnessed our strengths and our personality types.
If anyone is interested in finding out more before you make the decision to leave law, our website is http://www.arudia.com.
I wish that I had had a coach while I was in law school. I often provide pro bono consultations to law students about how to find a career in law that will work for them.
Martha
Jennifer,
I came across your sight and am in a very similar position as you. Would it be possible to get in contact with you? My e-mail address is Bluetarheel10@yahoo.com. I’ll explain more in an e-mail.
Thanks!
S
I found your blog searching “legal careers, ISTJ,” looking for a way to use my soon to be acquired law degree in a non-legal way b/c like you I find “this law crap [i]s boring and I hate[] it.” And I’m ISTJ! However, I couldn’t be less interested in the law or the big firm “life.” To think I went back to school at almost 30 for this misery! Anyhow, it’s nice to know I’m not alone. Thank you.
Hi Jenn,
I love your blog and have been reading it for a while now. I still practice law, as you know, but love to read your thoughts anyway.
H.T.
Would love to chat about your career counselor experiences – i am in need of one. I am leaving law and thinking that what I am going into is a mistake. I think I might need to think of a few more whats before I bite off more than I can chew. I am a new mom, so it might take me a while to respond…..
Thank you for this blog. I’ve been a lawyer for four years and I’m not happy in it. It’s taken me a long time to be able to admit that to myself. I always wanted to be a writer but I also wanted to be financially independent and have a comfortable lifestyle. I decided to go into the law because I could use my skills and interests in reading, writing and helping people solve problems. My goal was to practice law for 10 to 15 years, save up a lot of money, and then retire and just write and travel. But my curse is that I’m successful in the law, I have done well and am building a reputation and I see that the longer I stay, the higher I will climb on the ladder and the more money I will make, etc. I do want to provide a nice living for my family. I think it would be selfish to write or to take a low-paying job and write, when I could provide them with so much more. And it’s not that I despise being a lawyer, sometimes I quite like it. It’s just that I feel I am not pursuing my life’s purpose and dreams with full gusto. I do make it a point to read and write every day, which helps spur me on, but I get depressed at work. I think my depression comes because I am not being true to myself.
I feel stuck because what I want to be is a writer but how could I survive on that?! My standard of living is in place for an attorney (luckily I do have savings and I spend less than I earn) and I have a lot of student loans that won’t be paid off for years and years, and I do admit that I like creature comforts and I feel an obligation to provide them to my family. Another practical problem is that I have no idea what other job I would find happiness in besides writing, and it’s not like I have a major book deal to pay for me to write. I’ve thought about teaching writing or teaching anything, or just working in a bookstore. I’ve thought about trying to launch a magazine or website for lawyers in my community (one doesn’t exist), or to do freelance writing about legal issues since I have that background and it seems like it would pay.
I would love it if you could do a post for those of us who dream of leaving law but feel stuck. What is the alternative, especially for those of us who are drawn to the low-paying arts and who can’t expect to make a living right away on our words, or other form of art? Thanks again for the blog.