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Mentor
I work for a sole practitioner with a small case load, so I don't feel burnt out for being over worked. But I do feel burnt out for being under paid and not having enough vacation days to rejuvenate.
I genuinely LOVE what I do. Are there times where I feel burnt out? Yes, absolutely. But when we settle a case or win at trial I get overwhelmingly happy that my work was for a purpose. At my last firm, for the first 2 years I felt very happy. And then I started feeling the way you were feeling because people weren’t pulling their weight, I felt like I was being taken advantage of and other factors so I stopped caring because I was being burnt out. I switched firms not too long ago and that feeling left completely. It may be your firm is terrible. Or it may be that the legal industry isn’t what you ✨love✨ and it might be time for a change. Or a long vacation
Your job doesn’t sound like it’s healthy for you or anyone else. Have you looked at the market in your area? It’s normal to have work to come back to, but not enough to deter vacations.
I’ve been in the bizz for just about a year, experience in three legal specialities. Personally, I’ve come to terms that the industry as a whole is not a match for me. I no longer want to go to law school and am much happier now chasing other goals in a different field. If your firm is terrible you can always apply elsewhere, but if you’re not on good terms with the industry then you have much less power. Bottom line is you shouldn’t be feeling constant burn out at work.
The legal field is naturally adversarial by nature, and that comes with drawbacks for sure. And it won’t be a good fit for everyone. But overall my office is great about managing workload and helping us avoid burnout (I’m public sector and Union, FWIW).
Take me with you! Lol
I also love being a paralegal and have been in litigation for 20 years. I can't say I've ever felt burned out, I actually love staying insanely busy; however, I also got, and took, vacation. Of course being a biller, I had to make up any billable that I needed to, but I normally billed around 2000 hours with a billable requirements of 1650.
I love the work. I do get stressed and annoyed sometimes but at that point I just walk away from my computer and take a breather. Also, take vacations and just days off to rest your mind if you can. If not, make sure you’re taking care of yourself in your free time. I think that will help with the burnout feeling.