How To Make It: 5 Root Causes for Dissatisfaction in the Legal Profession

“Winning in Your Own Court: 10 Laws for a Successful Career Without Burning Out or Selling Out.” 

Dena Lefkowitz is the founder and president of Achievement By Design, an executive coaching firm that helps lawyers find career direction.

At some point in law school and every year after, every lawyer gets the memo: This profession is neither easy nor simple. And one of the most challenging aspects of creating a legal career is figuring out what to do with it. How do I make partner? What’s the secret to developing business? Should I switch jobs or keep plugging away? Would I be happier/more successful/ more fulfilled on my own? And ultimately, Do I really want to be a lawyer?

They don’t teach these answers in law school; not everyone is fortunate enough to find the right mentors or break through the clouds of doubt.

Lefkowitz also is the author of “Winning in Your Own Court: 10 Laws for a Successful Career Without Burning Out or Selling Out.” In her 25-year legal career, she has gone from civil litigator to general counsel for state government, then from practicing lawyer to helping lawyers with their practice.

“Question everything,” Lefkowitz writes. “Is this what you signed up for? Does what you are being asked to do serve your career vision? Is this what you want to be doing today? Next week? Ten years from now? If not, what are you going to do about it? In the end, your answers are the only ones that count. Understand unequivocally that you don’t have to give up the people and activities you love to make a living in the law– unless you want to.”

Lefkowitz says her book is “about the laws they don’t teach you in law school – the unwritten rules for success. The book helps lawyers enjoy their jobs, be better at them, and to earn more money. It also helps them determine if they should stop practicing law.”

In her book, Lefkowitz addresses topics such as burnout, selling out, and why so many lawyers leave the profession. She lists the root causes for dissatisfaction:

• The environment they’re practicing in is toxic and run by terrible bosses.
• They are in the wrong area of practice.
• They have no autonomy.
• The hours required leave no time for a personal life.
• They don’t feel empowered to set boundaries.

More importantly, she provides tools for helping lawyers choose the best path at each career crossroads. In “Winning in Your Own Court,” Dena Lefkowitz helps readers re-envision and reinvigorate their careers and their lives.

For career advancement advice and success stories, check out the “How I Made It” Q&A series on Law.com.  

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