I ask this because I'm looking at law school but I don't want to come out of it hating my life and 100k in debt. Type "being a lawyer" into google and the first thing you see is "I hate being a lawyer." I have a hard time finding voices from the other side. Maybe that's because unhappy lawyers are more likely to vent their frustrations, whereas happy ones are content enough to stay off the message boards.

But this movie review sure as hell didn't help. I have no interest in becoming a "white shoe" lawyer like the ones portrayed here, if that helps my prospects. Nothing against big firms - I just can't bear the thought of billing 2400 hours or working 70-80 hour weeks.

I want to be a lawyer and to be happy. Is the state of the profession such that these two goals are incompatible? Who here enjoys practicing law?

The law can be pretty boring. The basic theme of most John Grisham novels is young lawyer escaping the legal profession to do something else, in his case writing pot-boiler novels. For a young attorney in the sort of firm portrayed in Michael Clayton, the work would be dull, pressured and highly lucrative.

I would suggest thinking about what kind of lawyer you want to be, what kind of law are you interested in, what sort of practice do you want to have. Big city, small town, that sort of thing. Do you see the law as a gateway to something else?

Ideally, I'd want to be a general practitioner in a small town near a big city, preferably St. Paul, MN. I don't know if general practitioners even exist these days, but I'm interested in small businesses, employment law, immigration, and maybe a little personal injury or family law on the side. I'd also like to work with non-profits pro bono, and St. Paul is good for that.

Is the law also boring for those who eschew the dull, pressured and lucrative jobs for the more hands-on, ground level stuff?

No, those of us who are happy don't generally blog. I had to "join" just to reply. I love my job. The other side is that I barely meet my expenses and I get no respect from the public or other lawyers. I'm a government attorney. Yes, there are still general practicioners. We're in government. We represent agencies in every aspect of their day-to-day operations: from HR issues to contracts in the blink of an eye. I'm continually challenged but, doing it over again, I would probably go into IT and be retired now (14 years out of law school). It does get a bit draining to have gone to a very good school and done very well there and be paid $34 an hour.

Grin. I used to be in general practice in a medium sized city. It wasn't boring but I'm doing something else now and am much happier. I did it for a dozen years and really made a difference in the lives of clients and for that I am grateful. I also worked so hard I had to almost die (literally) before I noticed anything was wrong. The problem is that you're dealing with contentious people, all day, every day.

I also dealt with people accused of some pretty heinous crimes but, on the whole, they were at least straightforward criminals. When I read the first thread on this movie, I thought, "These guys have obviously never met a client who knows he'll lose his house and his wife and his business if he gives you that piece of paper he just found." Sometimes, part of your job might be to talk someone whose back is against the wall into doing something that is completely irrational to their self-interest and whole way of doing business. And then you might have to explain why their death really ISN"T preferable to dishonor. I think the movie made it look really easy to hire a hitman but I have no doubt that *many* clients would hide that paper.

In my very first criminal defense, we won even though the prosecutor lied, cheated (via evading the rules of discovery), AND stole (sent an agent to try to get a piece of what they hoped would be physical evidence) and they did it with a clean conscience because they really believed they were on the side of the angels. It's common knowledge that "Insurance defense attorneys eat their young." Whenever you see a courthouse shooting, it's not because someone lost money; it's always because of custody and divorce.

Aside from that, it's pretty cool. I don't know. Sometimes it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. There is *nothing* like feeling a jury go with you when you're making your point. Helping an innocent man go free or getting kids placed with the right parent or seeing someone open a business that you helped them start: it's Good Stuff. It's just that you almost can't want anything else. What did K say in _Men In Black_: "If you're strong enough?"

Getting some cool responses from real attorneys. That's good.

I also considered becoming a lawyer. It wasn't my heart's passion or anything, so I decided to work in a law firm for a year after college to see if that's what I really wanted to do. Well, I don't know if you can do the same. I ultimately decided not to become a lawyer after having one tell me that Sure, you make money being a lawyer, but then you don't have time to spend any of it. Rather pointless, don't you think?

So, I would try to speak to some attorneys working in the area that you want to go into before making your decision. Maybe you could try contacting some of them and inviting them out for lunch or something, your treat? If you can get some insight into their work, then great! And if you can't get anyone to take some time out of a busy workday and talk to you, then that would be very telling as well.

Yes, very cool responses and it's definitely giving me some extra perspective on this whole deal. Many thanks to everyone who's answered thus far -

Whether you find the legal profession rewarding is largely dependent on your own personal preferences. Like any other job, the day-to-day job of lawyering has its ups and downs. That said, I would advise anyone contemplating law school to seriously consider the following two things. First, geographic relocation for any lawyer is extreemely difficult. Despite the fact that I have practiced for many years, every time I have moved to a new state (due to husband's job), I have had to re-take the bar exam. It is impossible to convey just how misserable (an expensive) the bar exam experience is -- and it gets worse and worse the longer you've been out of law school. Second, an attorney can never truly take a vacation. Although you may find the time to take a trip, your cases stay active while you're away. Even if you have someone else "watch your desk," if you are the attorney of record, then you are ultimately responsible for the case. Sometimes, peace of mind is hard to come by. Best of luck in making your decision.