商业律师的职业倦怠是个大问题，压力巨大，工作时间又长，让人身心俱疲。很多人感觉被困住，找不到出路，身心健康都受到影响。如果感到精疲力竭，一定要寻求帮助，照顾好自己。

5-6 files? And you have a lunch, period?

9-6 is a great gig. Maybe you need to reevaluate your career prospectives.

Given the information you provided, you’d likely be much busier in govt work.

ETA: OP, I see you’ve basically spammed a few subs with this issue, asking for advice. Editing to add that I’ve been there, done the same thing because I felt so helpless.

You might need a literal sabbatical, or you might need to leave the practice of law all together if this is eating away at you that badly. And it’s okay if it is. Doesn’t make you a failure if that’s what you’re concerned about. Either way, you need to do something, perhaps first trying to find a mental health counselor. There’s a reason our profession has one of the largest substance abuse rates.

Hang in there.

Work life balance is generally better in the public sector, but it also depends on what employer and what field. My friends who are AUSAs work big law hours. My hours are generally 40 hours a week not including lunch but when I’m busy, have major briefs due, hearings, etc my hours go well beyond that. My hours are still way better then when I was in private practice.

9-6 isn’t bad at all. Seems like you have a pretty cushy gig in terms of hours, no billables, and actually being able to take a lunch break. That’s just slightly over a standard 40 day work week. If you’re struggling with 9-6 then honestly I think you need to go to therapy to figure out how to better manage stress. Unless you’re looking to go part time, you’re not going to find jobs hours much better than what you have now.

If you don’t like having imminent deadlines then you probably need to switch to a different practice area.

Reading these comments, most lawyers have given up and assume you cannot have work life balance. Truthfully, 95% of lawyers are what I’d term “over achievers.” The further up the ladder in certain practice groups you move the more competitive this environment of “over achievers” becomes.

Having a shitty work life balance is a perverse badge of honor. On your death bed, none of this matters. There are better environments and standard 40 hour work weeks in the field.

You’ve just got to find companies or firms that share that vision. I’ve worked in two areas that emphasized it. A large successful Plaintiff firm I worked for would tell you the expectation was you leave at 5 pm. You weren’t lauded for for eschewing your family or yourself. It was refeshing. Working in house for an insurance company, it’s a similar environment. Family and yourself first. Don’t get me wrong, there can be long days or weeks, but they are the exception.

What I’ve found is defense side firms are typically where you see this manic obsession with work being your sole purpose in life. Hours being the end all be all. The “over achiever” mind set ends up leading to a progressively perverse view of life as you compare yourselves and your output….

If your goal is a better work life balance, it’s out there… Find it. And more likely than not, you’ll end up working with people that have a similar outlook on life….