Biglaw Burnout: Lawyer Anxiety Meets Toxic Law Firm Culture

[@TheJDNation]

What's the worst aspect of your lawyer burnout?

[@sauerkrautjr]

Definitely the inefficacy part. I know I'm performing at a lower level than my best, but feel powerless to change it in my current job. Trying to get out of here. Also struck out at OCI haha. So after a stressful 2-year job search I'm in a job I don't like with a high billable hour requirement and salary far below market.

[@TheJDNation]

@@sauerkrautjr ughhh I'm so sorry about all of this! Something to consider that I heard from a psychotherapist who specializes in treating lawyer burnout - perhaps that higher level at which you were performing your best was unsustainable and is part of what led you to burnout. I thought that was interesting because when I look at my best and highest performance levels, they were definitely unsustainable and led me to burnout. Food for thought when investigating your next job!

[@notme123]

You are not a "former" lawyer. Maybe a non practing lawyer.

[@xporkrind]

Law would be great if you could practice it 30-40 hours a week. I actually enjoy much of the work. But it's kind of like eating a steak. Having one huge, juicy steak is pleasurable. But being forced to eat 50 steaks in one sitting, takes all the fun out of eating steak. From the law firm's perspective, they want to make a profit. So once they pay you benefits, there is huge pressure to have you bill a ton of hours. But I would prefer to have more free time for myself or my family. So the challenge for me has been trying to stay in the law, but as a part-time or contract attorney. The vast majority of firms prefer full time attorneys so they can maximize their profits.

[@TXCTellsAll]

Burn out is real. I never did biglaw path but recognized that I needed to work smarter and not harder. 11 years later and I'm finding more of a balance

[@TheJDNation]

I'm so happy to hear that! With the billable hour being the primary metric by which most lawyers are assessed, there's an incentive to work harder and longer rather than smarter--it's so messed up.