Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

10-19-2012

SSRN Discipline

Legal Scholarship Network; Social Insurance Research Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Law & Society eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Cognitive Science Network

Abstract

In the course of a review of recent books on the hedonic level of lawyers lives I put forward an explanation for the high rate of stress anxiety depression and burnout among lawyers I examine suggestions of leading authorities on how attorneys may achieve happiness usually through extrinsic measures such as more vacations exercise or meditation I also consider proposals on how supervisors can make legal workers more content including more art work for the walls windows with leafy outlooks a basketball court or more praise I specifically criticize the teachings of positive psychology explaining that they hold little promise for lawyers and indeed open the door for chilling forms of social adjustment The article concludes that lawyers will not be happy until the structure of the legal profession changes in fundamental ways and propose a few

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