The Belief in Doing Well by Doing Good

• Author: John P. Box Jr.
• Pages: 111-124

111

8

The Belief in Doing

Well by Doing Good

The happiest lawyers in America are the lowest paid. That seemingly

counterintuitive conclusion was revealed in a 2015 study published in

the George Washington Law Review.1 Researchers surveyed more than

6,200 lawyers across several states and found zero correlation between

happiness and well-being, on one hand, and high-income and partner-

track legal careers on the other hand.2 Instead, the researchers found that

the happiest attorneys in the study were public defenders and Legal Aid

attorneys—that is, those with the smallest paychecks. Specifically, the

researchers found:

Attorneys in large firms and other prestigious positions were

not as happy as public service attorneys, despite the far better

. . . pay of the former group; and junior partners in law firms

1. Lawrence S. Krieger & Kennen M. Sheldon, What Makes Lawyers Happy?: A Data-Driven Prescription

to Redefine Professional Success, 83 G. W. L. R. 554, 554 (2015).

2. Douglas Quenqua, Lawyers with Lowest Pay Report More Happiness, N.Y. T, May 12, 2015.

box50388_08_c08_111-124.indd 11111/3/17 4:28 PM