INSTITUTIONAL DENIAL ABOUT THE DARK SIDE OF LAW SCHOOL

[emilysreasons]

BUMP

[erstes]

Awesome thread! Popping it up ..

[Bravo]

This ground-breaking book is one of the first to analyze the dark side of law school and law practice. The author, a graduate student at Harvard, draws on his personal experience as a law student to show that a disproportionate number of law students and lawyers become severely disillusioned with their work.



The book encourages prospective law students to ask themselves hard questions before making a decision to attend law school. It provides revealing insights into the realities of law school and law practice. It debunks dangerous myths about law school and law practice. Yet its most important contribution is the practical system it lays out for helping prospective law students discover if their personalities, values, skills, and interests are genuinely well suited to the law. This book is mandatory reading for anyone considering law school.

[juris]

By Lindsey Miller

There is much anecdotal basis for concern about the collective distress and unhappiness of law students and lawyers. This anecdotal evidence is confirmed by many empirical studies. At the University of Arizona, a study of students entering law school showed that they had essentially normal psychological markers; by the first year, those markers had shifted to major psychological distress, and the negative changes continued through law school and the students' early careers. The students had higher rates of clinical depression, with an incidence of 20-40%. A study conducted by the author and a psychologist confirmed these findings. Another study showed that law students have 8 to 15 times the rate of clinically elevated anxiety, hostility, depression, and other symptoms compared to the general population.
 

University of Washington School of Law says that at least 1 out of every 5 of their law students seeks counseling during the course of law school. (if 1/5 law students actually seek counseling, the numbers of students who could actually benefit from counseling is substantially higher.)

If the student has insurance plan, she may receive 15 out-patient mental health visits per policy year. In addition to outside resources, the Law School has a mental health professional on call; services are free of charge to law students. For both financial and workload reasons, the doctor accepts clients on a referral basis.

Sometimes, however, people who could benefit from counseling do not feel as though counseling is necessary. If you have had two or more of the following symptoms for longer than a few days, please seek evaluation and treatment as soon as possible.

The Dysphoric Array:
- Mixture of anxiety, depression, and hostility
- Thoughts of killing self
- Feeling so unhappy that you can not shake it
- Dissatisfied or bored with most aspects of life
- Nicotine use (the most efficient anti-dysphoric on the legal market - significant cancer risk attached)
- Disrupted sleep - never feeling sufficiently rested
- Increased social isolation
- Limiting normal exercise patterns

The Alcohol/Drug Dependent Array:
- Managing sleep patterns through using substance
- Feeling guilty about your use of alcohol or drugs
- Drinking or using drugs creates problems between you and your partner, parent, or relatives
- Neglecting your obligations for longer than a day because of negative consequences related to use
- No memory of time period during use
- Increased social isolation
- Limiting normal exercise patterns

http://www.law.washington.edu/students/StressCounseling.html

[JC]

Young lawyers are morosely unhappy by every conceivable standard. They arrive at our law schools brimming with enthusiasm, but a decade later they are reporting staggering levels of anxiety, drug addiction, and depression. In legal circles there is talk about a "crisis of professionalism" and a "decline in civility," but the problem goes much deeper. Through ignorance and greed, the legal profession has designed a complicated system of education, licensing, and practice that drives young lawyers into fear, alienation, and self-hatred. The author of this book — a law professor and practicing attorney — argues that young lawyers face a series of institutional absurdities built into the fabric of law school, the bar exam, and law firm practice. The current system is churning out a tidal wave of disaffected and bitter lawyers who see the legal system as a Byzantine maze, an endless artificial game totally disconnected from considerations of justice. The Destruction of Young Lawyers shows how these struggles can be reversed through massive structural change and is the first step toward diagnosis and treatment of the specific problems facing young lawyers.

[Harri]

Wow, this is something to look into ..

[arcanismajor]

This ground-breaking book is one of the first to analyze the dark side of law school and law practice. The author, a graduate student at Harvard, draws on his personal experience as a law student to show that a disproportionate number of law students and lawyers become severely disillusioned with their work.



The book encourages prospective law students to ask themselves hard questions before making a decision to attend law school. It provides revealing insights into the realities of law school and law practice. It debunks dangerous myths about law school and law practice. Yet its most important contribution is the practical system it lays out for helping prospective law students discover if their personalities, values, skills, and interests are genuinely well suited to the law. This book is mandatory reading for anyone considering law school.

I don't get why you're posting this on Students' borad - they've already made the decision! I'd understand why this post would appear on the Pre-law board, but here?!

[andthensome]

tag

[hotdiggity]

I don't think that applies to all young lawyers, i know young DAs who love their jobs and seem pretty well happy with their lives.  There's a great theory in social psych called cognitive dissonance which basically states that people always have to be able to make sense of their lives and the decisions they made.  This makes sense because a DA doesn't make half the money as a BIGLAW lawyer, yet is able to do something they feel is the right and moral thing to do.  That's why I feel bad for the people who want to write contracts in a beautiful office, they spend all day there, and granted they make good money, yet I can not imagine anyone forseen themselves writing briefs 70 hours a week.  Sure they're making good money, yet I think most lawyers picture themselves arguing not writing.  The point is people don't have to be unhappy if they can keep from letting their own greed or pride get the best of them.

 

[anno domini]

Well, after the JD -- at least according to this report -- life is not gonna suck that much, after all ...

http://www.nalpfoundation.org/webmodules/articles/articlefiles/87-After_JD_2004_web.pdf