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On Being A Happy, Healthy, And Ethical Member Of An Unhappy, Unhealthy, And Unethical Profession, Patrick J. Schiltz

Vanderbilt Law Review

Dear Law Student: I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the profession that you are about to enter is one of the most unhappy and unhealthy on the face of the earth--and, in the view of many, one of the most unethical. The good news is that you can join this profession and still be happy, healthy, and ethical. I am writing to tell you how. I. THE WELL-BEING OF LAWYERS Lawyers play an enormously important role in our society. "It is the lawyers who run our civilization for us-our governments, our business, our private …

The Pursuit Of Happiness, Michael Traynor

Vanderbilt Law Review

Ills that beset our profession are addressed by Professor Patrick Schiltz in the alert he sounds in his lead article, On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession,' and his earlier article, Legal Ethics in Decline: The Elite Law Firm, the Elite Law School, and the Moral Foundation of the Novice Attorney. His articles call for attention and introspection by law students and others in the profession.

The editors invited me to comment because of the transitions I have experienced since graduating from law school in 1960. I agreed, not realizing the extent …