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The best part is that the prestige is exclusively among other lawyers, like nobody in the general public cares unless you become a politician or something.
Haha yes it’s mostly prestige felt by oneself exclusively… and then maybe to other lawyers if you have time to interact with people… sort of crazy
Honestly, I went into the law wanting to make a difference -- to help others. I have stumbled along the way, allowing myself to focus on chasing "prestige" and money.
I'm grateful that I was unsuccessful in those attempts -- at least in my solo law practice in a rural area. I eventually learned that I do better financially and am held in higher esteem when I focus on serving other people.
Had I never set up shop in the rural area I did, I would have made more money -- and I'd be maling a good bit more now.
But, after 29 years, I am content with my road less traveled. I do not begrudge anyone their choices.
Please know that your success should be measured in YOUR terms -- no one else's.
I love this response.
I went into law for the prestige
I joined Prestige Worldwide for the prestige
I don’t know where OP gets the prestige thing. Even the most highly paid among us who still practice are more or less the help insofar as our clients are concerned. Other than some mass tort lawyers who win a massive case. And they’re often looked down upon in the profession.
^ in NYC even big law attorneys are pretty much plebs compared to the finance folks they serve
I went to law school for a stable job with a higher income than I was making. Things are going swimmingly.
This, minus the stability (as a tech lawyer). I remember sitting at a fast food restaurant near the end of college, looking at law school brochures and thinking how crazy it would be to make $160k (starting biglaw salary at the time) when months before I was focused on getting a full time job that would have paid about $40k.
$$
Prestige and reputation are mutually exclusive. The former depends on rankings and awards (and sometimes payments from the marketing team); the latter on your character. The sooner people stop chasing titles, rankings, and boosting their resume the sooner they’ll find happiness. We need to be content with enough, not always strive for the best, in our professional lives.
Would you continue practicing law for 40 or 50 years just for the prestige, or is there a greater mission?
Your peace of mind is more valuable than any “prestige” can offer you. You feeling burnt out all the time isn’t worth ANY amount of money. You’ll stop wondering once you realize this.
This is why I went in house, not as much prestige but I'm GC at a company and I'm the only lawyer. Surprisingly great work life balance, decent pay (I'm underpaid), tons of flexibility, and people I genuinely enjoy working with. I was billing 2200+ hours a year and wanted a family. A wise woman told me - you can have it all just not all at the same time. And what is having it all anyways? Glad I got out of litigation, but I do understand hard to escape tying your self worth to the prestige, etc. good luck on your path!
At a high level, you seem to be stuck in some assumptions about why people do what they do, and what makes them happy, and how they make choices. You know, everyone is different, balancing factors like pay and lifestyle and prestige. You gotta just do you, yeah? You care about not burning out, which is great. Sometimes you gotta take a step back... you got a roof over your head, food on your plate, maybe a little someone out there, and if so, it's going just fine.