Here’s a sample article that is all too familiar to people already in the industry:
Not only that, but I am seeing an alarming number of my colleagues drop dead from strokes caused by sitting at their desks too long. I considered myself in excellent health. I competed in triathlons regularly and rode my bike 30-60 miles a week. I developed problems from deep vein thrombosis in my ankles from sitting at my desk brief writing for hours on end. Now I learned that I have bulging discs caused from years of tilting my head down to read. The bulging discs are putting pressure on my spine and causing paralysis in my dominant arm. Intellectually stimulating work but high stress and very long hours that can lead to health problems too early in life.
Thanks for sharing! I will add to that. I have carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists from clicking through thousands of documents working e-discovery for big cases. First it happened in my right hand, so I switched to using the mouse with my left hand. Same problem started developing. Clicking a mouse all day is not healthy. I finally quit working in law directly and now write about legal topics. My lifelong hobbies include art and piano, but I can hardly hold a pencil and write sentences for very long. I had to learn to wrtite with my left hand as backup.
Our stories could seem unbelievable to people not in the field, but there are endless examples of various types of physical, emotional and relational harm from legal careers, not to mention the financial harm that happened to so many long-time attorneys during and since the recession, and to a lot of new law grads saddled with up to $200,000 in debt and no real law jobs to be found – certainly not the jobs they had dreamed of and expected pay-wise.
There are still the big success stories that lure people to the industry, and it is intellectually stimulating, but I wouldn’t recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone.