Young lawyers’ job satisfaction
In 2000 the American Bar Association conducted a Young Lawyers Career Satisfaction Survey among its members. Its highlights were as follows:
1. The median billable year was 1860 hours.
2. Half of young lawyers spent more than fifty hours per week on legal work.
3. Most young lawyers were at least somewhat satisfied both with their job and with the practice of law generally.
4. More than seven out of ten were at least somewhat satisfied with the balance between thir professional and personal lives.
5. Among those in private practice, small-firm practitioners were likelier than those in larger firms to find that their expectations are being met with regard to their ability to contribute to the social good, help others, and enjoy a certain quality of life. On the other hand, larger-firm practitioners are likelier to experience greater financial rewards and significant potential for advancement.
6. Despite a high level of overall satisfaction with current position and the practice of law generally, more than sixty-five percent indicated that they would consider switching jobs within two years.
There were many factors that contributed to an individual’s satisfaction with his or her situation with regard to practice setting or the practice of law generally. The majority of the respondents who were employed in legal positions (86.5%) reported that they were practicing in substantive areas of law which they enjoyed. Only 13.5% of the young lawyers did not appear to be satisfied with this aspect of their careers. This pattern was strikingly similar to the percentage of respondents to the 1995 survey who reported discontent with the substantive focus of their practice. At that time 13.4% of the young lawyers indicated that they were not practicing in a substantive area that they enjoyed.
The alignment of expectations and experience with regard to intellectual challenge was the strongest of those tested, as it was in 1995. About 70% of the young lawyers responding to the 2000 survey felt that their actual experience had lived up very well to their expectations regarding the level of intellectual challenge involved in the practice of law. Only 2.6% reported that their expectations had been completely disappointed with regard to this aspect of practice. With regard to financial remuneration, career satisfaction, the ability to help others, and quality of life, the majority of the respondents working in legal positions appeared to be at least somewhat satisfied with the convergence between their expectations and experience. The inability to make a contribution to social good was the aspect of practice that seemed to disappoint young lawyers the most. A quarter of the responding young lawyers felt that their expectations with regard to their ability to make a contribution to social good through the practice of law had not been met, a situation which had not improved in the interval between surveys.
Among private practitioners in firms of various sizes, there were some significant differences with regard to the convergence of expectations and experience. Small firm lawyers were less likely than those in large firms to find that their expectations with regard to financial remuneration were being met. Conversely, private practitioners in large firms were less pleased with their ability to make a contribution to social good, their quality of life, and the ability to help others than were those in smaller firms.
Among private practitioners, firm size was an important factor in the evaluation of these practice descriptors. Smaller firm practitioners were significantly more likely than those in larger firms to report that they had substantial control over their work, that they experienced a lower level of job tension/pressure, and that the balance between time spent on work and family responsibilities was satisfactory. The price paid for these benefits was that larger firm lawyers were more likely than those in smaller firms to report that the financial reward was great and that there was substantial potential for advancement.
In the face of what appeared to be a high level of general satisfaction among the young lawyers generally regarding their current position and the practice of law, it was interesting to note that 30.1% of those who responded to a question about the likelihood of their leaving the firm or organization where they were currently employed in the next two years said that they would strongly consider doing so. Another 37.2% reported that they might consider doing so. Only 9.5% of the responding members would definitely not consider changing firms or organizations. (In 1995, 32.8% indicated that they would strongly consider a move within two years of the survey and 31% reported that they might consider doing so.) There were no significant differences between the female and male respondents with regard to their willingness to change positions. Newer lawyers are significantly more likely than those who have been in practice for a while to be strongly considering leaving their current firm or organization within the next two years. For example, 38.8% of the respondents admitted to practice in 1999 or 2000 are strongly considering such a move compared to 16.1% of the lawyers admitted in 1993 or earlier. There were also significant differences among private practitioners in firms of various sizes.
Young lawyers in private practice in larger firms were significantly more likely to be contemplating a move from their current firm or organization and less likely than those in smaller firms to report that they would definitely not consider changing their current employment setting in the next two years. About 80.7% of the private practitioners in firms of more than 200 lawyers indicated that they might at least consider such action.
Slightly over two-fifths of the survey respondents (42.4%) were female. With regard to ethnicity, 86% of the members who indicated their ethnicity were Caucasian; 4.2% are African American; 4.3% are Asian American; 2.5% were Hispanic or Mexican American; and 0.3%
About 58.7% of the members who provided information on marital status were married; 36.3% were single and had never been married; 4.7% were divorced and single; and 0.4% are currently separated. Slightly over half of the survey respondents (54%) were members of two career families. A quarter of those respondents report that their spouse or significant other was also a lawyer.
The survey respondents reported their personal income from all sources in 1999. The median income fell between $60,000 and $69,999. The difference in the median income levels between female and male respondents was in some part attributable to the fact that the female members were less likely than the males to be employed in private practice, and among private practitioners, women were less likely to be working in large law firms than were their male counterparts.
Self-assessment
There are certain values that a lawyer must cherish in the practice of law. The first value is the obligation to learn to represent clients competently; the second, the obligation to promote justice, morality and fairness; the third, the obligation to improve the profession; the fourth, an obligation to constantly improve one's skills and the obligation to take positions consistent with one's personal values and professional goals.
Be aware of your personal values and professional goals. Self-assessment is becoming aware of your interests, your values, your skills - who you are and what you want in a position.
You can also conduct a written self-interview. It will be surprising if you don't become very thoughtful after writing answers to the following questions:
- When did you first entertain the notion of being a lawyer?
- Who were the people who supported or influenced you to become a lawyer? What did they see in you? What were their personal attributes, skills and characteristics that seem to have contributed to their accomplishment and satisfaction. Were there those who discouraged you? Why?
- How did you choose your college major?
- At the time you applied, what were your reasons for applying to law school?
- What was your experience your first year of law school?
- What was the evolution of your study methods and your attitude toward grades (i.e. your analytic strengths and weaknesses and your attitude toward competition)?
- What courses did you like best, and do they have the slightest bearing on what you do now? Is this a problem?
- If you ever seriously considered dropping out of law school, what was the turning point that changed your mind?
- What impact did your summer jobs and your first permanent job have on your self-image and career plans?
In addition to interviewing yourself, you might wish to review your significant accomplishments: not just the professionally recognizable triumphs that are standard fare on resumes, but achievements you know to be privately and personally significant. Often the groundwork for a sense of mastery has been laid well before your formal professional training. Things your have done successfully and well at any stage of life are apt to be windows on your talents and interests. It will do you good if you write ten achievement stories, describe the skills essential to your successes, and look for underlying themes and continuities.
The foregoing is based on an article of Dr. Mark Byers, a counseling and vocational psychologist, who has counseled students and lawyers at
Atty. Manuel J. Laserna Jr.
LCM Law, Las