Michael Serota[*]
"[M]ost lawyers . . . hope that their work will be a source of satisfaction in itself. Indeed, many hope that the intrinsic satisfactions it affords will be important enough to play a significant role in their fulfillment as human beings.”[1]
Introduction
Today’s law school graduates face two disturbing trends in the professional world. Each is well known, but neither is openly discussed in the law school setting.[2] First, lawyers suffer from chronic professional dissatisfaction.[3] Approximately one out of every four lawyers is dissatisfied with her job.[4] Second, this dissatisfaction exacts an extraordinarily high price on lawyers, the legal profession, and society as a whole.[5] Most startling, however, is the fact that the widespread dissatisfaction and the associated mental health-related problems prevalent in the legal profession actually begin in law school.[6]
