Pros and cons of being a lawyer: A guide for future lawyers

Becoming a lawyer still appeals to many people; from small kids looking up to their role model, to adults who are inspired by TV dramas (like Daredevil, am I right?). But just like the journey of our stars on the screen, the actual life of a lawyer also has its own ups and downs, which future lawyers may want to take note of.

In this article, we will discuss the different pros and cons of being a lawyer. This article can be used by those who want to enter law school, or even those who are already starting their law school journey.

What are the pros and cons of being a lawyer?

Here's a list of the top pros and cons of being a lawyer in Canada:

We'll discuss these pros and cons of being a lawyer below. You can also use the table of contents above to directly go to any of these listed topics.

Pros: Potential high salary and income

Let's be real up here: many students take up law—including you—because of the promise of a high-dollar profession once you're already practising law. And it's not untrue.

According to our Canadian Legal Salaries, the average salary for a lawyer in Canada is roughly at $150,000, but with several factors that may affect your future final pay. The possible ranges are as follows:

• average salary can be as high as $200,000, depending on the role you're willing to take, or
• average salary can also dip as low as $95,000, especially if you're still starting as a new lawyer

Big firms pay a lot for articling and junior roles, but smaller firms often match or exceed the large firm's salaries to attract new lawyers. However, it is presumed that you have good grades or great experience during your law school days for you to become an "attractable" talent.

Personal injury lawyers are one of the lawyers who make the most money in Canada. Here's a top-ranking personal injury law firm discussing what it takes to be one, and see how a firm in a practice area with a potentially high salary works:

If you want to study law, read our article on the different law schools in Canada, which is a complete list of Canadian law schools, their tuition fees, and their admission requirements.

Pros: Fulfillment of helping clients

But aside from getting those stacks of money, lawyering as a profession is also a fulfilling one. Certain practice areas involve close work with people and families, which many lawyers find satisfying. It's also a plus that you're working in a profession that pays well, and at the same time helping people with their legal problems.

Here are some practice areas that you may want to focus on, where fulfillment meets lawyering as they say:

• criminal law: working for or against the accused as a lawyer is an area where you can feel that justice is working (or the lack of it, where you can still be part of the change)
• family law: although this is one area where emotions are too high, resolving complex family issues for their own benefit can reassure your place in the legal profession
• environmental law: lawyers in this area feel they are helping on issues that matter to them, especially those who are into environmental and climate crises

For inspiration, you can also check our Special Reports and Rankings page, which lists the top lawyers and firms across the country in every practice area and province or territory.

Pros: Several alternatives for work

Lawyering is neither confined to the four corners of a court room nor a law firm. After becoming a full-fledged lawyer, there are a lot of alternative careers for lawyers that are worth exploring.

This can include choosing whether to work for a large firm, a smaller boutique, get an in-house role, work in the government, or a smaller law firm. There are also several possible practice areas to focus on.

You can also look at Marshall Eriksen from How I Met Your Mother, whose fictional legal career involved working in corporate, environmental law, and even with the judiciary at the end. There are many pathways to explore, but hopefully yours doesn't involve putting up with Barney...

Pros: Flexibility in a day's work

Here's where the saying that a day in the life of a lawyer is never the same and never a boring one. From high-tension situations to days when there's not much to do, lawyering is a mix and match of everything:

• if you're someone who doesn't thrive on a fixed 9-5, then working in a firm may be for you, where work may depend on the cases you take or are assigned with
• if you want more structure and regularity, there still are other options, like working for a government post or in a corporate setting

Other forms of flexibility are also emerging in the legal profession, such as the following:

• work-from-home arrangements
• hybrid workplace set-ups

As perception on flexibility and work environments are now becoming a trend, these are now adding factors for both lawyers and firms in terms of employment.

Cons: Expensive education

While you may think that law school seems like what it is in How to Get Away with Murder—just less the murder, of course—it's still undeniable that surviving law school is expensive. Costs would include the tuition fees, books, extracurricular expenses, and your board and lodging if you're living far away from home.

To get over the high costs of law schools, you may want to enroll in one of the cheapest law schools in Canada. Scholarships are also famously available before or after your 1L in law school, depending on what is available, your grades, and even your personal circumstances.

Cons: Working in a high stress profession

Aside from the costs to your wallet, the legal profession may also cost you some of your peace of mind, depending on a lot of factors:

• practice areas that cause stress: examples are family and immigration law, though fulfilling, may also cause huge stress due to the emotions and attachment when handling these matters
• hostile environment or workplace: high-stress situations and hostile circumstances, in or out of the court, push lawyers to lose their chill which can personally impact their daily work
• stress corelates to stakes: cases where a lot is at stake, whether financially and socially, can also lead to the internal and external pressures for the lawyer

Lawyers may be wealthy in dollars but not in health, as these stressors may further lead to anxiety, fatigue, depression, and burnout.

Cons: Significant burnout risk

Burnout has always been a problem for lawyers. One study even found that more than 50% of lawyers say that they're feeling burnt out. Its effects are devastating; mental health is low, personal problems may pile up, and cases may be affected by these circumstances.

Burnout is not only the result of where you may work and who your boss is. It can also be a system that pushes lawyers beyond their limits: high billable targets, surmounting workloads, unrealistic expectations, and a whole lot more.

There are several solutions to burnout, both by those outside and within the profession. For upcoming and new lawyers, these include choosing a workplace that:

• has policies to prevent and addresses burnout among its employees, or
• have leaders who tackle burnout within the workplace's practice management

Cons: Financial and career uncertainty

When it comes to the legal market, there's this looming uncertainty that lawyers face, as shown by the effects of the COVID pandemic over the profession. Although strong coping mechanisms are put in place after the pandemic, some financial and career uncertainties still linger:

• there's always rising competition among lawyers, since new ones enter the market every year
• some practice areas are fee-sensitive, such as those in real estate and deals-based careers
• there are threats brought by artificial intelligence and other technological advances

One of the things that keep the legal profession hanging is the way lawyers and firms bill their clients. Check out this webinar if you want to know more about a law firm's billing system, or if you're interested in improving if you're already working with one:

Head over to our Events page for more in-person lawyer conferences and activities to get insights from legal professionals across the country on various relevant topics.

Pros and cons of being a lawyer: Finding a fitting—but not perfect—path

The path to legal practice is not just grades, rankings, and prestige. It is long days, real people, and business pressures that do not show up on TV. Aside from that, the work feels very different in a large Bay Street firm, a boutique, or a small practice, which makes the pros and cons of being a lawyer very varied. In any case, there's no single version of "being a lawyer," and you must evaluate these advantages and drawbacks based on your own personal circumstances and experiences.

Bookmark our Legal Education page for more news, articles, and updates for Canadian legal professionals, including the pros and cons of being a lawyer.