Popular Image of Lawyers Isn't Always Reality

Many popular television shows, movies, and books have portrayed a glamorous image of lawyers.  The overt message is that lawyers live rewarding professional lives that are full of drama, passion, and a nonstop barrage of interesting, novel, and groundbreaking issues.  The popular image of the lawyer is that she "loves her job": she does what she does because she has passion for her work to the exclusion of almost anything else in her life.  The lawyer is viewed as a willing workaholic who regularly sacrifices self, family, outside interests, and friendship for the love of the case, the client, or the business deal.  Of course, the media portrays lawyers as invariably having excess money and living in posh or trendy apartments or neighborhoods.  Rarely, if ever, does the media focus on depression or unhappiness among lawyers.  A thorough awareness of such depression and unhappiness is the first step toward neutralizing the negative effects of billable hours and moving away from the 6-Minute Life