wanted: a new profession

It’s bar exams season once again. And with it, another round of pangs of regret.

While most of the bar examinees would shake heaven and earth just to get that much-coveted prefix to their first names, a host of practitioners scattered all over the country continue to lament this unlamented occupation. I, for one, don’t have to show my disgust over “a-t-t-y-s”. It shows.

Imagine this. Day in and day out, you deal with other people’s legal problems, some gargantuan, others being made so by litigious people. (You don’t count your own problems because you have no choice but deal with them yourself). Nakakasuka. Puro problema na lang ba? That is why I can't understand other people's fixation with lawyers and the law. As far as I'm concerned--with profuse apologies to my brethren--this profession is not the best there is. And I'm being polite.

Despite the glamor being projected on TV and in the movies about lawyers in general, lawyering returns are not always commensurate with the blood, sweat and tears that go into your work. That is, if you’re not content with mediocre work.

Maybe that’s my problem. I’m so “into” my work that even simple pleadings drain my energy. The details, the language, the law, the cases—all these need painstaking attention. And yes, I do get personal, specially if my opponent insults my client. I cannot help but hit back. Then the battle rages on. After that, you sulk and go about cursing the kind of work that you do.

Please somebody. Get me out of this rut.