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GAZETTE
L A W B R I E F
OCTOBER 1996
Reasons for not Practising Law
by Dr. Eamonn G. Hall
A n ew legal y e ar b e c k o n s. A n ew uni-
versity year is about to start. It is
appropriate, therefore, to refer to studies
a b o ut the practice of law in the late 1990s
and to reflect on the difficulties b e i ng
e x p e r i e n c ed by m a n y Irish lawyers.
E n t ry to the p r o f e s s i on s o me y e a rs a g o
m a y h a v e g u a r a n t e ed a satisfactory
standard of living. T h is is n o l o n g er the
case. A report f r om the L a w S o c i e ty of
E n g l a nd a nd Wa l e s p u b l i s h ed last y e ar
s h o w ed that the g r o w th in the t u r n o v er
of p r i v a te practice firms in the p r e v i o us
y e ar h ad b e en insufficient to ma i n t a in
e a r n i n gs a nd profitability. A q u a r t er of
sole practitioners m a d e a profit of
£ 1 0 , 0 00 or less. T h e n u m b er of
c o n v e y a n c es h ad fallen, a nd s e v en out of
ten h o u s es w e re c o n v e y ed f or less than
£ 3 0 0. Irish statistics are h a r d er to c o m e
by, but m a n y c o u ld testify a b o ut l ow
i n c o m es a nd p o or p r o s p e c ts f o r solicitors
this year. In fact, r e c e nt r e s e a r ch c o n-
d u c t ed by o ur o w n L a w S o c i e ty r e v e a l ed
that s o m e solicitors started w o r k i ng on
salaries as l ow as £ 6 , 0 00 a year.
Tyranny of the mind
According to the
International Journal
of Law and Psychiatry,
lawyers are
r e p o r t ed to b e a l mo st f o ur t i m es m o r e
likely to b e d e p r e s s ed than the
p o p u l a t i on at large. Irish figures are not
available, b ut a U S s u r v ey of 105
o c c u p a t i o ns f o u nd that l a w y e rs r a n k ed
first in e x p e r i e n c i ng d e p r e s s i o n.
In his 1994 book
The Soul of the Law
( E l eme n t ), B e n j a m in Sells r e f e rs to
s u r v e ys w h i ch s h ow that o n e in f o u r
l a w y e rs e x p e r i e n c ed f e e l i n gs of
i n a d e q u a cy a nd inferiority in
i n t e r p e r s o n al r e l a t i o n s h i p s, a n x i e t y,
social a l i e n a t i on or d e p r e s s i o n. O n e
m i g ht c o n c l u de that this w o u ld b e
typical of o n e in f o ur p e o p le in g e n e r a l,
but Sells, a C h i c a go a t t o r n ey w h o is a l so
a p s y c h o t h e r a p i s t, f o u nd that l a w y e rs
e x p e r i e n c ed m u c h h i g h er rates of
fudge Cardozo noted that judges and
lawyers are often the scapegoats of others
bearing a weight of odium heavier than any
they have earned.
i n a d e q u a cy a nd a n x i e ty than the g e n e r al
p o p u l a t i o n. Is this the s a me in I r e l a n d?
Lawyers are reported to be
almost four times more likely
to be depressed than the
population at large.
F o r t h o se solicitors w h o w o r k in law
firms, b i l l a b l e - h o ur r e q u i r e m e n ts h a ve
a l mo st d o u b l ed in the last 15 years.
S o m e l a wy e rs are o v e r w h e l m ed w i th
w o r k ; e q u a l l y, m a n y h a v e little or n o
w o r k. S o m e l a wy e r s, h o w e v e r, in large
firms feel t r a p p ed w i t h in the p r o f e s s i o n,
w i th firms e x p e c t i ng total c o mm i t m e nt
f r om t h e m. In a d d i t i on to billable h o u r s,
part of the s o l i c i t o r 's e v e r - d w i n d l i ng
t i me m u st b e s p e nt m a r k e t i ng the
firm's
services. T h e r e is a d i s c e r n i b le p a t t e rn of
o b s e s s i ve c a r e e r i sm in s o me l a wy e r s,
i n v o l v i ng r e l e g a t i on of all o t h er ma t t e rs
to a l o w er status. B ut are l a w y e rs so
d i f f e r e nt f r o m o t h e r s?
Lawyers and love
B e n j a m i n S e l ls h a s a r g u ed in
The
Soul
of the Law
t h at l a w y e rs s u f f er
i n o r d i n a t e ly f r o m t he d e f i n i ng
s y m p t om of o u r a g e - l o n e l i n e s s. H e
r e f e rs to r e s e a r ch s u r v e ys t h at d e f i n e
d e e p - s e a t ed l o n e l i n e ss as f e e l i n gs of
i n a d e q u a cy a n d i n f e r i o r i t y, s o c i al
a l i e n a t i on or i s o l a t i o n. It is said
( t h o u gh it is d i f f i c u lt to a c c e p t) that
l a w y e rs k n o w b e t t er t h an m o s t w h a t it
m e a n s to b e l o n e l y.
It h as b e en a r g u ed that the l a w y er mu st
a l w a ys be on g u a rd b e c a u se he or she
d o e s not k n o w w h e re the next d a n g er
m a y c o m e f r o m, that the l a w y er lives
with his or h er b a ck against the wall.
P e r h a p s, not surprisingly, this h as led to
the d e c l i ne of collegiality in the
p r o f e s s i o n, a nd an i n c r e a se in disloyalty
a nd incivility. " L a w y e rs d o n ' t see the
a d o p t i on of a d o g - e a t - d og Ma c h i a v e l l i an
wo r ld v i ew as c y n i c a l ", s a ys o ne
u n p u b l i s h ed ma n u s c r i p t, "just realistic".
S e l ls s u g g e s ts that b e c o m i ng a l a w y er
m e a n s r e m a i n i ng " s i n g l e ". " S i n g l e" in
this c o n t e xt m e a n s " o n e o n l y " a n d h as
n o t h i ng to d o w i th ma r i t al status.
In f a c t, s o m e l a w y e rs w h o are m o s t
s i n g le a re m a r r i e d!
L a w y e r s h a v e b e e n c o m p a r ed to
s o l d i e rs in that t h ey are b o th
s o m e t i m es in t he f r o nt line. W h e n t he
l a w y e r or s o l d i er c o m e s h o m e , h e
n e e d s ( d e m a n d s) t e n d e r n e ss a n d
r e s p e ct - p e r h a ps n ot t h i n k i ng that
a n o t h er p e r s on a l so n e e d s t e n d e r n e ss
a n d r e s p e c t. B u t, a g a i n, are w e a ny
d i f f e r e nt f r o m o t h er p r o f e s s i o n s?
Vilification
L a w y e rs h a ve b e en the mo st a b u s ed
p r o f e s s i on in w o r ld literature. O n e
e x a m p le will suffice. J o n a t h an Sw i ft
wrote in
Gulliver's Travels:
" T h e re w a s a society of m e n
( l a wy e r s) a m o n g us, b r ed u p f r om
their y o u th in the art of p r o v i ng by
w o r d s mu l t i p l i ed f or the p u r p o se that
wh i te is b l a ck a nd b l a ck is wh i t e,
a c c o r d i ng as they are p a i d ."
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