The comments to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog post What Holds Unhappy Lawyers Back From Leaving? are almost as interesting as the post itself. The post features Monica Parker of Leaving the Law who has a book coming out next month entitled The Unhappy Lawyer: A Roadmap to Finding Meaningful Work Outside of the Law. From the post:
Unhappiness in the law has, unfortunately, become a distinct sub-genre of LB coverage. To such an extent, in fact, that the storyline of lawyer wretchedness has become somewhat of a cliché: Wayward liberal-arts student, law school, indebtedness, dashed career hopes, inertia, misery.
But what happens next? Is there a way out? Monica Parker ... thinks unhappy lawyers can be coached out of law, and back to happiness. After stints as a producer at Spike Lee’s film company and a manager at a Winn-Dixie grocery store, Parker, a Harvard grad, returned to Cambridge for law school. “‘I should have a larger income, I should have something with more prestige and status,’” she thought to herself.
“Being the true law school type, I decided on law school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she told the Law Blog in a recent interview. “You hear it opens doors.”
Click for the rest. From another post (also featuring Parker) entitled Escaping the legal profession is becoming its own business (National Association of Freelance Legal Professionals blog):
How do you know that dissatisfaction with the legal profession has reached an all-time high? When helping lawyers leave the profession becomes its own cottage industry.
A cottage industry! Let me know of other people doing this kind of work and I will post them here.
Here's a directory of legal career consultants (in which I am listed). Also:
Yes, when I actually think about it, law-leaving consultants do make up an industry. Who else should be on this list?
- Ellen Ostrow wrote me to be included on this list (her Web site says she works with women lawyers)
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