A recent International Bar Association survey reveals a striking reality: 54% of lawyers under 40 think they might leave their jobs within the next five years, and 20% are even pondering a departure from law altogether. The inescapable conclusion: there's a persistent sense of dissatisfaction in the legal profession, especially among its more junior members—and that's despite recent spikes in compensation and, according to Wells Fargo's Legal Specialty Group data, reduced billable hours expectations.

There's much that's been said, and much more to say, about the root causes of attorney dissatisfaction generally, and what law firms need to do from a cultural, training, and mentorship perspective (among other things) to arrest the worrying trends. But, given current circumstances, junior lawyers should focus on what does lie within their control, and that is how they react to the modern challenges of being a lawyer in private practice.