Matrimonial practice has long been regarded as one of the most stressful sectors of the legal profession. The reason is no mystery. Divorce clients are at one of the lowest ebbs of their lives and often bring the worst version of themselves to the lawyer’s doorstep.

The attorney who chooses to represent these clients is steeped in stress and client discontent from dawn to dusk. What others call stress, anxiety, and overwork, divorce lawyers call ‘Tuesday.’ Thus, it was with some bemusement that this writer read the reporting of the Law Journal’s Fifth Annual Mental Health Survey (Tincher-Numbers, S., “‘Old School’ Expectations Plague Young Lawyer Mental Health—But Not All Predecessors Are Sympathetic”, New York Law Journal, May 19, 2024). It triggered (pun intended) some thoughts that may be useful to the rising generation as well as to fellow ‘Old Schoolers’ who are now charged with welcoming and acclimating the newcomers into our profession.

It Always Comes Down to Math