TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/121189/12118900.064

Text File | 1990-09-22 | 6KB | 101 lines

LAW, Page 106

Have Law Degree, Will Travel

Fed up with thankless conditions, many lawyers are taking a hike

By Andrea Sachs


    After three grueling years of law school, Darren Walker stepped
into a plum job: a position as an associate with the prestigious
Wall Street firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. But what
started out as a young lawyer's dream soon turned into a bleary
round of long days and stressful nights. "I knew the end was near
for me when I woke up on the floor of someone's office one morning
and didn't know where I was," says Walker, 30. Having clean
underwear and shirts delivered to the office by messenger too many
times finally convinced him that he should make a switch. Now, as
an institutional bond salesman with UBS Securities, he makes more
money and has the time to enjoy it.

    The decision to leave law is becoming a more common one,
especially in urban firms. "Compared with five years ago, there are
a significantly greater number of lawyers today who are not
practicing law for a living," says Ward Bower, a partner at the
legal consulting firm Altman & Weil in Ardmore, Pa. Experts
estimate that nearly 40,000 lawyers a year are leaving the
profession, almost as many people as are entering law school
annually. A Maryland State Bar Association survey last December
found that 35% of the lawyers who responded were not sure they
wished to continue practicing law.

    Why the mass dissatisfaction? A major increase in working
hours, coupled with a corresponding rise in stress, has led to an
erosion in the quality of life for many lawyers. Law firms often
require that each year attorneys do 2,000 to 2,500 hours of work
that can be billed to clients, almost a third more than a decade
ago. That frequently translates into twelve-hour-plus workdays and
busy weekends as well.

    The strain on lawyers has become so bad that two books have
recently been written to warn the unwary. "Most law students don't
know what they are getting into when they start law school," says
Susan Bell, editor of Full Disclosure: Do You Really Want to Be a
Lawyer? (Peterson's Guides; $11.95). "Practice is not L.A. Law. For
all of the financial rewards, the toll is tremendous." Deborah
Arron, author of Running from the Law: Why Good Lawyers Are Getting
Out of the Legal Profession (Niche Press; $12.95), agrees. Says
she: "Law has become all consuming."

    Not surprisingly, an industry has sprung up in the past few
years to counsel lawyers who are less than content with their
situation. "We might as well have a sign over our door that reads,
`Some of the most unhappy souls in the world come through these
portals,'" says Larry Richard, president of Lawgistics, a
Philadelphia career-counseling firm for attorneys. "I see lawyers
who range from merely curious about their alternatives to those who
are seriously depressed and even suicidal." Branches of Lawyers in
Transition, a support group that offers seminars and workshops for
attorneys who are looking for job alternatives, have proliferated,
primarily on the West Coast. Such services, which often include
vocational information and testing, range widely in price, from
$130 up to $2,000.

    Even with assistance, leaving the law is harder than it sounds.
Well-meaning family and friends may not understand why someone
would walk away from a profession that offers status and financial
security. And many lawyers may be uncertain about leaving the
cocoon of practice. "It's hard to rip the label off and say, `I'm
no longer a lawyer,'" observes Leona Vogt, president of Vogt
Associates, a consulting firm for attorneys in Cambridge, Mass.

    Despite big-city law salaries that typically start at $55,000
to $80,000, the desire for a change of pace may be stronger than
the craving for financial rewards. Faith Childs, now a literary
agent with the Charlotte Sheedy agency in New York City, gladly
left her job as a labor lawyer for a FORTUNE 500 company.
"Notwithstanding the fact that I was making a lot of money, the
rewards weren't there," says Childs, 38. "It wasn't intellectually
challenging. Here, the creative possibilities are limitless."

    Defecting from law doesn't necessarily mean a depleted bank
account. Howard Tullman, 44, left the Chicago firm Levy & Ehrens
in 1981 because his busy travel schedule kept him constantly away
from his family. The company he then founded, CCC Information
Services, which provides data to the insurance industry, today has
1,000 employees and $105 million in revenues. "You can't become
wealthy selling your time," says Tullman, now a multimillionaire.
"There just aren't enough hours in the day."

    Legal expatriates often find their training helpful in
consulting, banking, accounting and many other fields. Attorney
Donald Carano and a partner acquired eight vineyards in Sonoma
County, Calif., in 1985. Says Carano, now the general manager of
the Ferrari-Carano Winery: "Law provides the grounds for a natural
evolution to business."

    Then there are those who take a long jump into more creative
endeavors. After becoming a partner at one of Minnesota's largest
firms, Greg Howard left law to become a cartoonist. His Sally Forth
strip is syndicated in 300 papers nationwide. "My writing skills
as a lawyer have been helpful in cartooning, but certainly I have
to use a lot fewer words," says Howard, 45. "I used to get 50 pages
for a brief. Now I get 50 words for a comic strip."


-- Barbara Dolan/Chicago and Nancy A. Williams/ New York