Why lawyers judging success by their level of monetary compensation could be wrong?
June 19, 2015
Richard Moorhead makes an excellent point about the need to consider the things other than monetary compensation that make work rewarding or unrewarding. I always think that money isn’t about money. It’s about self-esteem. Our culture is depressingly focussed on the idea that lots of money = happiness. There’s various research that suggests lottery winners may revert to their pre-win happiness level (see http://theconversation.com/couple-wins-the-lottery-twice-but-will-it-make-them-happy-39717). Maybe it’s time to recognise that there’s more to happiness than earning (or winning!) bucket loads of money.
The Lawyer have done a very interesting survey on lawyer salaries with a very large response (6,000+). The results on apparent gender disparities are particularly interesting. In this context, it can be regarded as useful light being shone on the practices of law firms, but in another light, it can be regarded as part of the ‘judge me by what I earn’ culture which is an (increasingly?) damaging part of the culture of legal practice.
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