How Do Young Lawyers Feel about their Careers in Law

How do young lawyers feel about their careers in law?  In a 1995 survey of lawyers who had been practicing law for less than three years or who were under the age of 36, the American Bar Association found that 27% of the lawyers surveyed were dissatisfied with practicing law.  Approximately a third of young lawyers responded that they would "strongly" consider leaving their current job in the next two years, while approximately another third said they "might" consider leaving  their current job within the same time frame.  In a Texas survey for 1999-2000, 39% of the responding law firm associates indicated that they wanted to change jobs within two years, 22% stated that they wanted to leave the practice of law, and 37% reported that they wanted to become an in-house lawyer.  Thus, most of the responding Texas associates no longer wanted to practice law with a law firm.  In general, many young lawyers seem to have significant levels of discontent with the legal profession.   [See Patrick J. Schiltz, "Lawyer Well-Being in Large Firms: Choices Facing Young Lawyers: On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession," 52 Vand. L. Rev. at 881 (May 1999); Susan Saab Fortney, "Soul for Sale: An Empirical Study of Associate Satisfaction, Law Firm Culture, and the Effects of Billable Hour Requirements," 69 UMKC L. Rev. 239, 285-88 (Winter, 2000).]