The Release Hatch: Leaving Law and Finding Another Job

• Author: Wendy Griesdorf
• Pages: 77-79

The Release Hatch: Leaving Law and Finding Another Job 77

NINE

The Release Hatch: Leaving

Law and Finding Another Job

So you are reading this chapter or curiously peeking at what it is about. Why? Maybe you have prac-

tised a couple of years and hate law. Maybe you articled and found it the worst experience imagi nable

and you now want to get away as soon as possible from anything related to the law. Or maybe you

never found an articling position and are now faced with the daunt ing task of establishing yourself

in a new industry.

Before you conclude that you wasted $70,000 or more on a useless law degree, sit down and take

stock of what you have accomplished. Leaving law is not so much about starting over as it is about

branching out from a very formidable foundation.

There are f‌ive stages to f‌inding a job in a new industry:

1. analyzing why you want to leave law;

2. building an affordable budget;

3. f‌inding a new industry that will provide you with more job satisfaction;

4. repackaging your skill set in a way t hat is adaptable and appealable to another industry; and

5. dra fting a new resumé.

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The f‌irst step requires self-awareness and the more self-aware you are, the more likely it is that your

next career will br ing you satisfaction. You must understand what it is about the legal industry that

you f‌ind distasteful. Is it the long hours? The stress? The burden of doing the same transaction over

and over again? The competitiveness between colleagues to bill more hours? Or, is it the inconsistency

between workload periods, with sometimes ver y heavy workloads and then very light periods? Is it

the pressure to bring in new clients? Is it the miserable colleagues? The list of complaints that lawyers

have about their jobs is long and varied. Some complain about the life of a lawyer but never take steps

to do anything about it, but if you are still reading t his chapter with interest, you are getting ready to