How to Help Lawyers Find Happiness

By Sue Manch –

Those of us in the legal talent development arena devote our time and efforts to programs and policies that will improve the success and happiness of our lawyers and law students. We implement competency-based performance models, create tailored mentoring programs, develop substantive and varied curricula, gather meaningful feedback, and provide one-on-one coaching, but are our efforts working?

Because we understand how success is defined within our organizations, we can definitely influence the extent to which students and developing lawyers become successful. But It turns out the answer is, “not so much” when it comes to helping them find happiness. Even when they are considered highly successful, lawyers and law students are not all that happy. Research shows that lawyers suffer depression at almost three times the rate of the American population and twice the incidence of alcoholism.[1]

A preview of Lawrence Krieger’s study of 6200 lawyers to be published in 2015[2] offers some insights. The study looks at factors believed to influence lawyers’ sense of well-being using an in-depth definition of “happiness.” The results have important implications for the work we do. For example, there is absolutely no correlation between being on law review and having a sense of well-being, but there is a high correlation between happiness and feelings of autonomy and relatedness to others. Influences from internal sources appear to be far more important foundations for happiness than external factors like money, prestige, or credentials. The very things that traditionally signal success in law schools and law firms – law review, top rankings, high-paying jobs, and prestigious employers apparently do not ensure happiness. Freedom to choose, relationships, meaningful work, and an ability to live in alignment with personal values, however, do have a positive impact.

All of us in lawyer development need to keep these findings in mind. In our efforts to help students and developing lawyers find success, we may focus too much on the importance of external factors such as grades, law review or prestige clerkships for students and sophisticated practices, high hours or bonus levels for associates. Perhaps our time would be better spent helping them understand that forging lifelong career success AND happiness requires finding out what they are truly passionate about. We also have to remind them not to abandon personal relationships in pursuit of top grades or hours. It’s all about finding perspective and not allowing the trappings of success to become more important than actual success and happiness.

[1] Zacharias, Fred C., A Word of Caution for Lawyer Assistance Programming. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vol. 18, p. 237, 2004; San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-05.

[2] Krieger, Lawrence S, with Sheldon, Kennon M., What Makes Lawyers Happy? Transcending the Anecdotes with Data from 6200 Lawyers, 83 The GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW (forthcoming 2015).

Blog Author

Susan Manch is the Firmwide Director of Recruiting and Development at Bingham McCutchen. She has more than 20 years of experience in the legal talent field.