Has it ever occurred to you that you’re miserable as a lawyer because you’re over paid? That might seem counter intuitive—even a bit nutty—but the latest research on the elusive topic of lawyer happiness finds that lower-paid lawyers are more content than those that make a lot of money.
Here are some of the key findings by Lawrence Krieger and Kennon Sheldon based on surveys of more than 6,000 lawyers, published in the George Washington Law Review:
- Lawyers in big firms or other high prestige jobs are more miserable. Despite huge pay difference, public service lawyers beat big firm types on the contentment scale.
- Being a high achiever in law school is meaningless for future happiness. “Factors most emphasized in law schools—grades, honors, and potential career income—have nil to modest bearing on lawyer well-being.”
- Making partner won’t make you happier. Junior partners “experienced no greater happiness than the associates.”
- Lawyers in prestige jobs drink more. Caucasian lawyers, who also had higher earnings, consumed more alcohol, while African Americans drank the least. Asians and Hispanics were in the middle.
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