This article appeared in Law Firm Partnership & Benefits Report, an ALM publication for policy-setters: Managing Partners, Law Firm Administrators, Human Resources Directors, Benefits Administrators. Visit the website to learn more.

When Mick Jagger says, “I can't get no satisfaction,” it is very difficult to believe. When a lawyer says it, it is a lot more plausible. Multiple studies suggest that lawyers are among the least satisfied of all professionals. What many lawyers fail to realize, however, is that satisfaction is not as elusive as it seems. If you are among the majority of attorneys who fall somewhere below 85% on the satisfaction scale, you can do something about it.

Job Satisfaction

I talk to lawyers all day every day. Many seem to believe that their dissatisfaction stems from something endemic to the practice of law. The hours, the drudgery, the quest for higher profits, increasing billing rates, firm politics and cronyism, conflicts, lack of support, and the drive to make law firms more like a business than a partnership are often cited as inescapable evils.