INTRODUCTION

Everything is advancing, and everyone is trying to race faster than time. In this race of life, we often forget the importance of inner peace and happiness. Being a lawyer is difficult due to the work pressure, amount of dedication, and the burden it has. There have been significantly high records of cases where law professionals quit their jobs.  Many lawyers are not happy with their job, which can be due to many reasons, some of which will be discussed in this article.

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WHY ARE LAWYERS UNHAPPY?

The reasons why a lawyer can be unhappy will be primarily focused on what profile of being a law professional is the person in as a law professor will be technically happier than an individual practicing lawyer.  The lawyers we see in TVs and series have a life which is not what is it in real. With deadlines to meet, and expectations too high, it at times becomes difficult to be a lawyer.

1. Nature of Work

• The nature of work done by the lawyer has a primary role in contributing to the psychology of the lawyer. The nature of work requires a lawyer even to work 7 days a week, leaving no room for personal life. This may create hesitation.
• Lawyers work for tedious hours and which may be more than 8 hours a day. And when there is an urgent filing or closing of the deal, it is not uncommon if you leave the office around 2-3 in the night. Even the same dedication is expected from an intern in this field of study.
• The nature of work requires constant use of laptop and read a lot of books, which proves tedious at times. This may create a lot of imbalance towards the physical health of the person as well.
• The primary role is advisory in nature with constantly the opposite parties trying to win the case; one may not always like the nature of work it is doing, work, and life both can be stressful.
• If the lawyer is practicing individually, all the work starting with client meetings to research to drafting to attend court hearing must be done alone. Handling everything alone becomes very tough as you have no one to rely upon.
• Every small detail matters in this job, so you really cannot afford to miss or overlook something. Playing cautiously every time while solving other’s problems is difficult.
• Whether you are in corporate or in litigation, the primary thing expected out of a lawyer is to understand the problem and solve the problem, other people’s problems. So, this requires a skill set very different from other professions.
• Not every day you get to do something new; it may become unexciting always to draft the same sale deed or edit the same vesting agreements as per the new clauses. So this unexciting nature of work may make work boring and unhappy.
• Proper drafting and proper dictation skills are expected out of the lawyer working in any law firm.

2. Standing out

The expectations of a law professional are quite high. Here you do not have pressure to reach targets or get clients. You must prove your worth by good research skill, good drafting skills, presenting solutions which are liked, cost-friendly and amicable in nature. What if you don’t? Someone in the same position as you will get to have better cases, will get to attend and directly interact with clients. So, it is important to constantly show that you have the capabilities of getting even more.  This creates a lot of pressure and then forces them to be extra dedicated to work, which may, at times, create a situation of unhappiness.

3. Money

Some of the jobs in the legal profession are not highly paid, and this can be another reason contributing to the unhappiness of the lawyer. In the initial lawyers or for a fresher, it is a very difficult task to fetch a high-paying job. But even with a low paying job, the amount of work and expectations of the seniors remains the same creating tension. Sometimes, there must not be a proper acknowledgment, be it any form of recognition, promotion or monetary expenses. This is one of the most important and most reported factor of people quitting jobs or being unhappy with the same.

One may also have an outstanding educational loan or car loan, home loan. It gets difficult to cope up. If a lawyer is practicing individually, then it is even more difficult to manage the finances and overall, leading to frustration. But considering the good part, one may be paid less money but has very high respect.

4. Uncertainty of future

The growth in this sector is very slow. One may take a lot of time to grow, and even that growth is uncertain. This uncertainty often creates a sense of tension and frustration, ultimately leading to unhappiness and irritation. You have to learn to be of thick skin and care less for the negative opinions and always strive to be the best, that will give the clarity and certainty of the future and help a lawyer understand in what field of law should he/she actually step in.

If you are fresher, then this is the biggest constraint because the growth is uncertain and at times not even sure if there will be any growth, resulting in the unhappiness of the individuals.

CONCLUSION

There are various reasons why a lawyer is not happy with the job, but there are various reasons why one must be with their job because, at the end of the day, everything has its own nuances and lacunas. Lawyers take time to adjust and settle in a specific environment because every firm, every office, every office of the judge has a working environment that is different than the other. so settling up is a challenge that takes time and effort.  Apart from the existing nuances, what must be looked after is the good part. Learning from mistakes, being creative, and still moving on makes you a successful lawyer