Why Are Lawyers So Unhappy?

A friend of mine just referred me to a book titled "Authentic Happiness" by Martin E.P. Seligman, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. The author devotes a section to discussing the three main causes of the demoralization among lawyers, which he identifies as pessimism, low decision latitude in high stress situations, and the adversarial nature of the profession.

Client Meeting from Hell

Lawyer beats client with baseball bat. From the Charleston Gazette:

A Charleston [West Virginia] lawyer beat his client with a baseball bat on the East End Wednesday afternoon after the client allegedly broke into his house. . . . A witness described lawyer Joshua Robinson chasing [his client] David Lee Gump II along the 1500 block of Lee Street, hitting him in the head, back and upper body at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. . . . Gump, 35, of South Charleston, was arrested and charged with battery and burglary, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. . . . Gump, who spoke with the Gazette at his house prior to his arrest on Thursday, said he didn't break in to Robinson's house. He said he was knocking on the door and standing on Robinson's porch, trying to confront him about a $1,100 check that he said belongs to him.

The incident is under further investigation. This would make for a killer MPRE hypo.

Aussie Attorney Undergoes Surgery to Be "Taken Seriously"

Becoming an attorney is expensive. Just ask Hajnal Ban, a "soon-to-be Queensland lawyer" who had "her legs broken and stretched in a bid to be taken seriously." According to The New Lawyer:

Ban . . . was worried her 5ft1in height would damage her credibility as she entered the legal profession and later went into politics. She paid the Ilizarov orthopedic clinic in Kurgan, Russia, the equivalent of $37,806 to break both legs in four places and stretch them every day for nine months.

What a painful, costly way to improve a problem.