On Happiness and the Practice of Law Continued

One of my students, Raymond Denecke (JD, 2009) responds to the thread on Happiness and the Practice of Law.  He responded a week ago, but I failed to post while at the Conference of Catholic Legal Scholars annual conference in Seattle.  (As an aside it was a great gathering, and I am thankful for Russ Powell's leadership in organizing the conference).  So here, belatedly, is Ray's response: 

"I am writing in response to your recent MOJ post: Sex, the Married Man, and the Practice of Law.  I have two views regarding your discussion and revelation that some feel they can not live truly happy and fulfilled lives.  On the one hand, I think the legal profession, like any other, is what a person wants it to be.  Some go into law to make money, others to satisfy a type A personality, some for altruistic reasons, and others for a combination of these or for other reasons altogether. 

For many, the study and practice of law is not what they think it will be once they commence a legal education or profession.  For instance, I had a notion of what law school would be like, and found that it is completely different than my idyllic fantasy world of law school.  That is not to say that I do not enjoy law school, because I do.  I look forward to the challenges I face everyday.  But, there are other students who had similar romantic notions about law school and the legal profession.  Unlike me, some of them cannot stand law school but continue for reasons that I do not know or cannot comprehend.  I know a couple of law students who hate law school but feel that it would be a disservice to their families/parents to quit and start in a new field.  Unfortunately, that attitude then follows them when they go out to work in the legal profession.  Perhaps that is why some feel that the law will not be the catalyst to a happy, fulfilled life. 

On the other hand, I can relate to your student who felt that she could not be happy.  While I enjoy law school and look forward to the day that I begin my legal career, there are days that I question my decision to go to law school.  On those days, I sometimes feel as though I have simply settled for whatever happened in my life and that what did happen was, perhaps, beyond my control.  Not to say I didn't take proactive steps in my pursuit of a legal education.  But that feeling sometimes carries over into other aspects of life and I think all aspects ultimately engage one with the others to the point where a person may feel that he or she will not achieve, or can not hope for true happiness, true love, and true joy.  And this feeling may come from the idea that people settle in life.  And I don't mean they settle down, I mean they settle for whatever comes their way instead of going beyond whatever happens and trying to make something happen. 

I also think a lot of people, law students included, like to consider what might have been had they aspired to something else and actually put forth an effort to achieve that.  As all this relates to the legal profession, I believe that students have their ideas about the legal profession, they learn otherwise in law school, but feel that they have gone so far already that giving up would be silly or whatever.  So, when they are out in the world, working, they may not be truly happy because they expected something else from the legal profession and it did not deliver.  And outside of legal academia, I am not sure how the law can be philosophically, spiritually, emotionally, or culturally fulfilling.  Maybe you can enlighten me."