Life After Law: Finding Work You Love with the J.D. You Have

PART I

The Depression Profession

There are a lot of unhappy lawyers out there. In one study, 52 percent of lawyers reported being dissatisfied at work. That is probably not because of their income. Law remains one of the best-paying professions, although the statistics are skewed by what the largest firms pay.

Money is not buying lawyers happiness. In fact, lawyers are far more likely to be depressed than other people. One study reports that about 20 percent of lawyers suffer from clinical depression, twice the national average. According to Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, law is a troubled field:

Researchers at John Hopkins University found statistically significant elevations of major depressive disorder in only three ...