When it Stops Being Funny

I see there is much to look forward to

Law student stress and depression are problems that have become national in scope. While students enter law school suffering from clinical stress and depression at a rate that mirrors the national average, this number skyrockets during the first year of law school. Studies have shown that law students suffer from clinical stress and depression at a rate that is three to four times higher than the national average.

These same studies indicate that student stress rises steadily through the third year of law school and then improves only moderately after graduation. At this point, law students show signs of stress that is twice the national average. Unfortunately, this sad story continues after law school. Lawyers are more likely to suffer from clinical depression, marital difficulties, and substance abuse than are any other professionals.

Gender and Law

...[W]omen respond less favorably to the Socratic method, they ask fewer questions in and outside of class and seek less advice from faculty, law school is less supportive of women's career goals, and women are more likely to become depressed during law school.

That's nice... I'm not just going crazy

Lawyers are more unhappy than physicians (many of whom are frustrated with managed care and the HMO squeeze), or teachers (who are dismayed with tyrannical administrators and demands for frequent high-stakes testing). Law students are unhappy, too. Not that they are naturally so. Before entering law school, law students do not exhibit above-average incidence of depression, suicidal thoughts, and dreams of dropping out; for many, these symptoms set in during their early months in law school and seldom disappear. What’s more, lawyers in small firms and public interest agencies seem only slightly less dissatisfied than the high-pressured worker bees in 500-lawyer megafirms.