Lawyer who hates her job asks career columnist for advice
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A career columnist has some advice for “Ann,” a lawyer who wanted to do social justice work but ended up at a business law firm.
It’s time to start looking elsewhere, according to the Slate column the Ladder. “Ann should absolutely take steps to escape the tyranny of the billable hour,” according to columnist L.V. Anderson. “No job is engaging and fun all the time, but Ann’s feelings about corporate law go far beyond the typical workplace doldrums.”
Ann—the lawyer’s middle name—wanted a public interest internship during law school, but those positions were too competitive to land. She instead clerked for a business law firm and got a job after graduation at a firm handling a niche area of corporate law. “She now spends her days reviewing retirement documents, drafting minutes from meetings, and filling out tax forms,” the article said.
Ann is grateful to have a job, but she tells Slate she can’t stand the work and misses client interaction.
The column acknowledges it’s difficult to leave a legal career after the time and expense of law school. But there are options. “It is literally true that you can do anything with a law degree,” the column says, “as long as you’re comfortable with the fact that you could have done the same thing without a law degree.”
The Ladder offers Ann traditional advice for those seeking another profession: Determine what strengths and skills you like to use. Seek informational interviews with people in jobs you might like. Change your resume to emphasize skills in your desired field. Try networking and serving on a board.
Ann might be interested in government agencies that provide legal and social services to low-income and elderly people, the article says. And working for the government or a nonprofit would qualify Ann for a public service loan forgiveness program.
Ann may also want to consider a “bridge job” that will allow her to gain experience and skills in an area that will help her pursue a career path that interests her.
“Life is too short for a humanitarian extrovert to spend her waking hours staring at retirement documents,” the article concludes. “And the only thing worse than going to grad school for a profession you hate is staying in that profession for years on end out of fear.”
