lawyer list

- [voiceover] i don't know about you, but i see it every day, lawyers who hate their jobs, articles telling us thereare too many lawyers. rates of depression increase. alcohol abuse is rampantin the profession. by and large, senior lawyers recommend not going into law as a profession. we know there's a problem,

and, yet, with all of these symptoms, we're not stopping toask a crucial question. instead, we fluff around the edges, afraid to tackle oneof the most fundamental issues associated with these symptoms. we analyze, we provide support, we offer condolence and sympathy. we encourage, exalt, and teach. all of those things are lovely,

significant, and probably necessary, but in all that, we're stillmissing the first question. let me guess. you probably worked hard in school. i'll bet you got prettygood grades, right? i'll bet you're a hard worker. you probably don't mind long hours. if you're like 95% of theyoung lawyers that i've seen, then 30 or 40 copies a day

isn't totally out of the question. i reckon you're probably smart, articulate, and capable of arguing your point with passion and enthusiam. so, what's the problem? the problem is that none of those characteristics protect you from the list of symptoms i said just now. you think that your hard work

will help you manage stress. you think that smartpeople don't get depressed. you think that the abilityto make a strong argument will stop you hatingyour job in three years. if anything, the qualities of people attracted to law, andthe training that we get, leads us further down these rabbit holes that destroy lives in the law everyday, and, still, we don'task the right question.

so, what's the question? it's this. should you be a lawyer at all? did you forget that part? did you get good grades, top marks in debating, and think, "i know, i'll be lawyer "like that person on tv is." fantastic, did you stopand ask the question,

"should i be a lawyer? "can i be a lawyer? "will i thrive as a lawyer?"? so, what's that questionlook like in real life? you see, law isn't all typing, isn't all writing letters, reading cases, studying, advises, meetings. it's not a series of friendly coffees

and catch-ups with polite hand-shaking and deals done each day. sure, it has those things, but those things are only half the story what's it really take to be a lawyer? there's something more, and if you haven't experienced it yet, you will. you need it when theclouds start to gather.

you need it when the storm breaks. you need it when you'rebuffeted from every direction, and when the wind force is so strong you can barely walk. what's the storm look like? it looks like a clientscreaming down the phone. it looks like spending a day, all day, on a task, to find that, the next morning,

the playing field is changed, and you need to start over. it looks like thecolleague you can't stand, but have to work with every day. it looks like the support staff who don't give you their all or leave you in the lurch when you need them the most. it's the employer who'spurpose for existing,

relates not you, your needs, your time, but only their ability to make more money than they did the day before. it's when you wake up inthe middle of the night with a cold sweat because you might have forgotten something. it's not being able to talk about what you do with your family,

your friends, or anyone else. these are the things we don't talk about. these are the aspects of legal pratice that get glossed over, as if they're mere trifles. well, they aren't. they add up. they're constant, and to many, they become overwhelming

which is why our polite little fiction that anyone can practice law is not only stupid, it's also self-destructive. it takes more than smart. it takes more than articulate. it takes more than hard-working. you need to be able to take the hit. you need to develop a thicker skin

than you could imagine. you need to have gravitas, and strength, and courage, sufficient to weather the storm, no matter how hard it gets, and get up the next day with one question on your lips, "what's next?". if stress cripples you,

if adversity overwhelms you, if you think your life and your career should be delivered toyou on a silver platter and you don't need to get in and do the work, then you really need to think about the main question, "should you be a lawyer at all?". law isn't just an intellectual profession.

it's raw, it's emotional, it's deep, and it's full on. it's not about soft versus hard. it's not about weak versus strong. it's about equipped or not. it's about ready or not. it's about whether you will thrive in the profession, or wilt. so, what's your answer?

should you be a lawyer? if so, then what's next?