If you asked me where I would be a year ago, I would say striving at a top 20 Amlaw firm and expecting a “reasonable” five figure bonus. That is not the case.
In 2022, I was a first-generation attorney working at a great firm making a great salary with nothing but future opportunities in sight. The reality is, however, that things turned out very differently a year later.
In the Fall of 2023, I voluntarily quit my job because said AMLAW firm impacted my mental health. It was a combination of multiple factors:
- My anxiety was through the roof. I was drinking a lot, constantly felt on edge, and was met with more critique than appreciation for my work.
- I was working long hours due to a hybrid schedule filled with impromptu meetings and requests that really impacted my ability to complete tasks during work hours, thus causing me to work after hours until midnight most nights after work.
- I constantly drank Redbulls and coffee to stay up to complete work, which caused my stomach ulcers to come back twice.
- I could not spend time (virtually or in-person) with family or friends without thinking about assignments that needed to be completed.
- I could not be mentally present in my romantic relationship because I was thinking of work.
- I wanted to spend more time with my aging 70-year-old parents.
- Though I liked the substantive work and tasks that I was doing, I was incredibly unhappy. I simply wanted to be happy. Was that too much to ask?
I won’t lie, the paychecks were comfortable. However, I could not deal with one more day of working there. I came home one day and noticed a sticky note that I previously placed on my refrigerator. The bible verse was Matthew 6:25-34 which says:
“[t]herefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
So, one day, in the Fall of 2023, I decided to give my notice. I had no idea of what was to come next, but I knew God had my back and I needed to find my happiness.
It is now March 26, 2024, and I decided to start this blog. What has happened from the Fall of 2023 to the Spring of 2024 has been an experience. Ultimately, however, it has led me to this question:
What can I do with my law degree that does not involve going into a law firm and still making a comfortable six-figure salary?
I am here with you to find out.
I will share their paths with you and hope that whatever you choose, you do it with your eyes wide open. So, I welcome you to this blog where I am legally navigating the right path in my career.
XOXO,
Legally Navigating
