Get Out! Advice for Unhappy Lawyers
Ever wished you could write for advice from a career coach who understood law? Well now, you can. Fire off that letter to jalvey@jenniferalvey.com. Maybe your letter will be the first one answered!
Get Out! Advice for Unhappy Lawyers
Ever wished you could write for advice from a career coach who understood law? Well now, you can. Fire off that letter to jalvey@jenniferalvey.com. Maybe your letter will be the first one answered!
The Origins of Toxic Law Culture
Rarely are there calls for the legal industry to hold itself accountable for creating alarming rates of depression/substance abuse/suicide in the profession. Despite the fact that lawyering is a stressful job done while surrounded by many dysfunctional, unpleasant people who actively try to thwart you—colleagues and opposing counsel alike. Somehow, we are supposed to survive and thrive in a toxic hellscape at work.
Law’s Toxic Tendrils
Not every single law firm environment is toxic. Yet a shockingly high percentage are. If we lawyers could see our psyches in physical form, I’m confident we would see many ugly scars, spirits broken from verbal lashings, and disfigurement from scathing attacks on our eyes, ears, and voices.
Born to Argue: Lawyer Dysfunction, Part 2
Lawyers may deserve the “asshole” label at times, but not because we are all mean, nasty people. Yes, there are many lawyers who are. But many more lawyers act poorly because they’ve never learned differently.
Everything Right Is Wrong Again: Lawyers and Dysfunctional Behavior, Part 1
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ever argue the correctness of your position, because I am not an idiot. But choosing the right time and the right place for that argument is where we lawyers often stumble. Far too many attorneys have their “I’m right” dial set permanently at 11, one of the reasons lawyers’ interpersonal relationships suffer.
What If Laziness Isn’t the Problem with Your Job Search?
I particularly don’t believe in lazy when it comes to people who managed to make it through an academic career with the grades to get into law school, to get through law school, and to get through the bar exam.
What I do believe in is fear. One way or another, fear is the root of behavior that we misguidedly call laziness.
What You Miserable Lawyers Really Need This Year
Your brain needs time to mull things over and roam freely in odd places. Lacking that kind of freedom, your brain (and therefore you) gets frenzied and spastic, going through lots of motions but accomplishing little.
