Being Creative with A Law Degree

When I started law school, I had dreams of arguing a major environmental case before the Supreme Court. However, law school turned out to be a double edged sword. Yes, it challenged me in positive ways. However, it also exacerbated my anxiety and depression.

Working in the legal profession didn’t make things much better. I still struggled with my anxiety. Yet I didn’t know what else to do.

I am lucky that the pandemic came along because it was enough of a paradigm shift for me to consider something else. I decided to put a pause on my legal work and start working in peer support for a local affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Illness. I found work that I was passionate about, and was able to combine it with my connections to the legal profession to create the LegalMind Society.

Others who have struggled with traditional law work have also found creative ways to benefit from their law degree while avoiding burnout they might have felt tugging at them within traditional law roles. I’ve had the privilege of talking with some of them and am always impressed by how creative people can be with a law degree.

The point is, there are a lot of factors that contribute to the mental health challenges that our profession is dealing with. And there are a lot of creative ways to utilize your law degree in non-traditional roles to avoid some of the burnout that fuels those mental health challenges.

We know, we’ve been there.

And, although we are not career counselors, we do understand the pressure that comes with law school and the bar exam. We understand how those pressures can exacerbate existing mental health conditions. Like I said, we’ve been there and we can help.

Being creative with professional opportunities can be a necessary change. It can be one that prioritizes your mental health and well-being and leads to better results for all. It might be scary, but sometimes scary can be just what you need to scare away the demons.

And if you need support along the way with that career changing step, let us know. We’re here to support you.