Small-Time Lawyers Happier, Survey Finds

Money can’t buy happiness, a survey of 6,200 lawyers has shown: according to researchers, public defenders, Legal Aid attorneys, and other lawyers with lower-paying jobs were more likely to report being happy. They also drank less. For those lawyers toiling at prestigious law firms, happiness does not appear to correlate with which rung of the ladder they are on; junior partners reported well-being identical to that of senior associates, who were paid 62 percent less. The study’s author, Florida State University Law Professor Lawrence S. Krieger, said high-ranking positions do not provide the feelings of competence, autonomy, or connection to others that public service jobs often do.