31. The Worst Job in the Legal World

Anyone who thought I was exaggerating when I wrote that "being a junior associate at a large law firm is the worst job in the legal world" (post 25) should read Marc Galanter's article in Law.com examining lawyer jokes told by lawyers themselves.  Galanter explains the source of the humor, found (as so often) in bitter experience:

In the 1960s the annual number of law school graduates doubled, and continued rising for another 20 years. At first, the profession became much younger: The smaller numbers of older lawyers were joined by much larger cohorts of young attorneys, so the profession formed an age pyramid with a wide base of younger lawyers and a smaller peak of senior ones.

Now, however, these baby boomers are in their fifties and sixties. The top of the age pyramid has widened, while its base has remained stable. The legal profession continues to grow, albeit more slowly. But all the growth is of older lawyers. This increases pressure on firms to thin their upper ranks to make room for ambitious younger people by mandating earlier retirement, or departnering those whose performance lags behind ever-rising standards. In short, the partnership tournament -- once something that only had to be endured at the beginning of a law firm career -- now lasts until the end.