律师为什么挣得越少越快乐

Of the many rewards associated with becoming a lawyer — wealth, status, stimulating work — day-to-day happiness has never been high on the list. Perhaps, a new study suggests, that is because lawyers and law students are focusing on the wrong rewards.

成为一名律师能获得诸多回报——财富、地位、有趣的工作……但日常的幸福感却从不在其中。一项新研究表明，也许，这是因为律师和法律专业的学生把应该注重的职业回报搞错了。

Researchers who surveyed 6,200 lawyers about their jobs and health found that the factors most frequently associated with success in the legal field, such as high income or a partner-track job at a prestigious firm, had almost zero correlation with happiness and well-being. However, lawyers in public-service jobs who made the least money, like public defenders or Legal Aid attorneys, were most likely to report being happy. 

研究人员在调查了6200名律师的工作和健康状况后发现，在法律界，高收入或成为著名事务所合伙人等因素与成功关系最为密切，但它们与幸福和快乐之间的关联几乎为零。然而，从事公共服务工作的律师们，比如公设辩护律师或法律援助(Legal Aid)律师，虽然赚钱最少，在调查中却更倾向于报告自己生活得挺开心。

Lawyers in public-service jobs also drank less alcohol than their higher-income peers. And, despite the large gap in affluence, the two groups reported about equal overall satisfaction with their lives.

从事公共服务工作的律师们酗酒也少于他们那些高收入的同行。而且，尽管两组人在富裕程度上差距很大，但他们所报告的总体生活满意度却大致相当。

Making partner, the ultimate gold ring at many firms, does not appear to pay off in greater happiness, either. Junior partners reported well-being that was identical to that of senior associates, who were paid 62 percent less, according to the study, which was published this week in the George Washington Law Review.

在许多律所，成为合伙人是员工的终极奋斗目标，也是员工与公司之间最牢固的纽带，但这同样不会给人带来更多快乐。本周发表在《乔治华盛顿法律评论》(George Washington Law Review)上的一项研究表明，初级合伙人与高级律师报告的幸福感一般无二，尽管后者的薪酬低了62%。 

“Law students are famous for busting their buns to make high grades, sometimes at the expense of health and relationships, thinking, ‘Later I’ll be happy, because the American dream will be mine,’ ” said Lawrence S. Krieger, a law professor at Florida State University and an author of the study. “Nice, except it doesn’t work.” 

“学法律的学生以竭尽全力追求好成绩而闻名，甚至有时不惜以牺牲健康和人际交往为代价，满心以为：‘我就要实现美国梦了，以后一定会过上好日子，’ ”该研究的作者之一，佛罗里达州立大学(Florida State University)的法学教授劳伦斯·S·克里格说。“想的是挺美，可惜现实不如人意。”

The problem with the more prestigious jobs, said Mr. Krieger, is that they do not provide feelings of competence, autonomy or connection to others — three pillars of self-determination theory, the psychological model of human happiness on which the study was based. Public-service jobs do.Struggles with mental health have long plagued the legal profession. A landmark Johns Hopkins study in 1990 found that lawyers were 3.6 times as likely as non-lawyers to suffer from depression, putting them at greater risk than people in any other occupation. In December, Yale Law School released a study that said 70 percent of students there who responded to a survey were affected by mental health issues.

克里格先生认为，与公共服务类的工作相反，声名显赫的工作存在一个问题：它们无法提供“能力感”(feelings of competence)、自主性以及与他人的联系，而这三者正是该研究所依据的描述人类幸福感的心理模型——“自我决定理论”(self-determination theory)的三大支柱。心理健康问题长期困扰着法律界人士。1990年，约翰斯·霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins)的一项具有里程碑意义的研究发现，律师患抑郁症的可能性是非律师的3.6倍，这令他们比从事其他任何职业的人都面临着更大的风险。去年12月，耶鲁大学法学院(Yale Law School)发表了一份研究报告称，在回应他们调查的学生中，有70%受到心理健康问题的影响。

Other research has linked the legal profession to higher rates of substance abuse. In some cases, these struggles have made the news: In a recent six-month stretch in Florida, three Broward County judges were arrested on charges of driving under the influence.

另一项研究显示，法律业与较高的物质滥用率相关。在某些情况下，这些问题还成了新闻话题：在最近的六个月内，佛罗里达州布劳沃德县有三名法官被控酒后驾车而被捕。

From 1999 to 2007, lawyers were 54 percent more likely to commit suicide than people in other professions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And in 2014, cnn reported that 15 Kentucky lawyers had committed suicide since 2010.

美国疾病控制和预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)的数据显示，1999年到2007年间，律师比其他职业从业者自杀的可能性高出54%。2014年，美国有线电视新闻网(cnn)报道，自2010年以来，肯塔基州有15名律师自杀。

Why lawyers are susceptible to such dangers is a matter of debate, although unhappiness with the work itself — long hours toiling for demanding clients — is often cited as a possible cause, particularly for people who entered law school with dreams of high-stakes, cinematic courtroom battles.

为什么律师这么容易发生此类危险？这是个见仁见智的问题。常有人说，该行业需要人长时间地为苛刻的客户辛勤劳作，本身就让人高兴不起来，对于那些以为律师的工作就是电影里拍的那种刺激而充满戏剧性的法庭论战，于是就跑去念法学院的人来说尤其如此。

“I thought I wanted to be a litigator for reasons that showed a misunderstanding of what litigators do,” said Todd D. Peterson, a law professor at George Washington University who left his job as a partner at a Washington law firm after becoming disillusioned. “The job was unfulfilling to me because I didn’t find it meaningful.” Today, Mr. Peterson is at the forefront of a movement to help law students avoid the mistakes he made.

“我想我之所以会想成为一名诉讼律师，是因为当初完全误解了诉讼律师是干什么的，”托德·D·彼得森(Todd D. Peterson)说，他本来是华盛顿一家律师事务所的合伙人，在对工作感到幻灭后他离开了这一行。“这项工作对我来说没有成就感，我找不到它有什么意义。”如今，彼得森先生在乔治·华盛顿大学(George Washington University)担任法学教授，并身先士卒地力图帮助法学院的学生避免重蹈他的复辙。

Others say the job requires an unhealthy degree of cynicism. “Research shows that an optimistic outlook is good for your mental health,” said Patricia Spataro, director of the New York State Lawyer Assistance Program, a resource for attorneys with mental health concerns. “But lawyers are trained to always look for the worst-case scenario. They benefit more from being pessimistic, and that takes a toll.”

还有人说，这项工作要求从业者的愤世嫉俗达到不健康的程度。“研究显示，乐观的人生观世界观有益于心理健康，”纽约州律师援助计划（New York State Lawyer Assistance Program，一个为有心理健康问题的律师提供帮助的组织）的负责人帕特里夏·斯帕塔罗(Patricia Spataro)说。“律师们受到的培训却是让他们按照最坏的情况打算。悲观的预期虽更利于他们的工作，但这是要付出代价的。”

And then there is the public hostility. “People just seem to hate lawyers,” Ms. Spataro said. “There are thousands of prominent websites for lawyer jokes. That’s just horrific.” Case in point: Many of the more than 3,000 comments on the cnn article about lawyer suicides applauded the trend. The comments are no longer visible in the link to the online article.

再有就是公众的敌视。“人们似乎就是讨厌律师，”斯帕塔罗女士说。“数以千计的知名网站上都有关于律师的各种笑话，这实在太可怕了。”举个例子：在cnn那篇关于律师自杀的文章下面有3000多条评论，其中有许多都对这一趋势鼓掌叫好。不过这些评论现在在该文的在线链接上已经不见了。

For Larry Zimmerman, a now-retired lawyer from Albany, jumping from a position in the New York State attorney general’s office to a lucrative job in private practice worsened his problems with alcohol.

下面再来讲讲拉里·齐默尔曼(Larry Zimmerman)先生的故事：他退休之前在奥尔巴尼市担任律师，从纽约州总检察长办公室的一个职位跳槽到收入丰厚的私人事务所令他的酗酒问题更加严重了。

“Suddenly I was dealing with some very significant money and very demanding clients and high stakes,” he said. “I enjoyed what I was doing, and I was good at it, but I was terrified almost all the time.” Before he sought help, Mr. Zimmerman said, he was drinking a pint of vodka a day and relying on junior lawyers to do most of his work.

“突然之间我就要处理一些涉案金额巨大的案子，应付极其苛刻的客户，官司的风险也很高，”他说。“我很喜欢我的工作，也很擅长，但它确实令我时时担惊受怕。”齐默尔曼先生说，在他决心求助之前，每天都要喝一品脱（约合473毫升）伏特加，并且需要依靠初级律师来完成他的大部分工作。

To help people like Mr. Zimmerman, most state bar associations or court systems have assistance programs that can refer lawyers to counseling or rehabilitation services. More recently, the work of people like Mr. Krieger has inspired law schools to develop programs that might head off such problems.

为了帮助像齐默尔曼先生这样的人，大多数州的律师协会或法院系统都设有援助项目，可将律师转诊给咨询或康复服务机构。最近，在克里格先生等人的研究的启发下，法学院也设置了一些项目来防止此类问题。

In 2012, Mr. Peterson instituted a voluntary program at George Washington University that aims to help law students make better decisions about what kind of law, if any, they want to practice. Students in the program meet with practicing lawyers to learn about their day-to-day lives. The program also has a mental health component, providing techniques for handling stress and remaining positive.

2012年，彼得森先生在乔治·华盛顿大学发起了一个志愿项目，旨在帮助那些想要进入法律界的法学院学生在众多法律领域中做出更明智的选择。参与该项目的学生将会见执业律师，并了解他们的日常生活。该项目还包括心理健康方面的内容，向学生们提供排解压力并保持积极心态的技巧。

“We’re helping students figure out why they’re in law school and where they want to be,” Mr. Peterson said. “So instead of just working to get the best possible grades so they can send out 500 résumés in their third year and hope that some law firm hires them, they are learning about themselves and why one part of the law might be more appealing to them than another.”

“我们帮助学生认清自己为什么要念法学院，以及他们将来想要去哪里工作，”彼得森先生说。“因此，他们不会只知道努力争取最好的成绩，然后在三年级时漫无目的地发出500份简历，指望能有律师事务所愿意聘用他们，相反，他们正学着了解自己，了解自己为什么会觉得法律的某些部分会比其他部分更有吸引力。”

But the pressure to be hired by a big-name firm is so strongly ingrained in law school culture, one George Washington University student said, that even those who enroll with the intention of performing public service often find themselves redirected.

但是，乔治·华盛顿大学的一名学生表示，渴望被大牌律师楼录用的压力在法学院的文化中是如此根深蒂固，即使那些在入学时有志于从事公共服务工作的学生也常常发现自己被潜移默化地改变了就业方向。

“It’s a very real pressure in law school,” Helen Clemens, a law student, said. “It comes from all kinds of avenues, but mostly I would say it just comes from the people surrounding you. If everyone is talking about leaders from our school who have gotten jobs at a really prestigious firm, the assumption is that we all should be trying to work at a similar place.”

“在法学院里，这是非常现实的压力，”法学院的学生海伦·克莱门丝(Helen Clemens)说。“它的来源多种多样，但我想说其中大部分来源于你身边的人。如果每个人都在谈论学校里那些在久负盛名的大律师楼里找到工作的佼佼者，那大家就会想当然地认为所有人都应该努力得到类似的职位。”

In 2013, the University of New Mexico Law School overhauled a mandatory freshman course to more closely resemble the George Washington University program. “A lot of people go to law school because they don’t know what to do with their lives,” said Nathalie Martin, an associate dean there. “We’re trying to direct them to a field we think they would enjoy.”

2013年，新墨西哥大学法学院(University of New Mexico Law School)对大一的一门必修课程进行了彻底的变革，使其更接近乔治·华盛顿大学的项目。“很多人进法学院是因为他们不知道自己该做什么，”该院的副院长纳塔莉·马丁(Nathalie Martin)说。“我们试图将他们引导到我们认为他们会热衷的领域去。”

Law schools at Vanderbilt University, the University of Texas and the University of Colorado also have professional development programs that focus on student well-being.

范德堡大学(Vanderbilt University)、得克萨斯大学(University of Texas)以及科罗拉多大学(University of Colorado)的法学院也设置了注重学生幸福感的职业发展计划。

By helping students refine their goals, teachers like Mr. Peterson hope to reverse the tide of unhappiness among lawyers. But he acknowledges that it will not be simple.

彼得森先生这样的教师希望能帮助学生完善自己的目标，并借此逆转律师生活不快乐的趋势。但他也承认，这绝非易事。

“There are certainly some folks here at the law school whose initial impression was that the program was kind of touchy-feely,” he said, “and there are students who think even an hour away from reading for their courses they’re going to be graded in is too much.”

“当然，法学院里肯定有部分人会觉得这些项目有些矫情，”他说，“甚至有学生觉得从埋头苦读中抽出一小时来做这些事太过浪费时间。”

 “But I think people understand that we need to do something for our students,” he added, “that we have a moral obligation to help them deal with all of these issues.”

“但我想人们终能理解我们需要为学生做些什么，”他补充道，“从道义上，我们有义务帮助他们应对这些问题。”