My first 10 years out of law school were spent as a corporate lawyer. The money was great but the intellectual challenge was marginal, and intrinsic satisfaction was non-existent.
I was new to Chicago, so, like a lot of young lawyers, I hung out with other young lawyers. Most of us, myself included, had borrowed at least $100,000 to get through law school, on top of whatever we owed for undergrad.
I was a nicely compensated hired gun but my job, at its core, was to move profits back and forth between corporate entities. Practicing corporate law didn’t serve justice, humanity, or animals abused at home or abroad. It didn’t solve for X, unless X began and ended with money.
Leaving profit for principle
Disillusioned, I was jealous of my poor friends who worked in public interest law. They were struggling to pay obscene rents but when they talked about their cases, their eyes projected an unquestionable sense of purpose. Win or lose in their cheap suits and goodwill shoes, unlike me, they were making a difference…