Career Alternatives for Attorneys: Farmer?

When the going gets tough, the tough get…. hoeing? On this morning’s open thread regarding 3L recruiting, one commenter recommended that instead of applying for legal jobs — perhaps a futile task in this economy — 3Ls should “[t]ry subsistence farming instead.”
Good idea! From the Associated Press:

They are lawyers, factory workers, insurance adjusters, even an accountant and a dentist. All share the same dream: They want to farm.

And all have applied to a special Iowa program that tries to link aspiring farmers with seasoned landowners who are looking toward retirement — or just planning for the future.

Seriously? We thought the legal job market in Iowa was relatively strong.
So what’s the lure of the land for lawyers?

The younger folks, mostly in their 20s and 30s, all have their reasons: a love of the outdoors, a yearning for independence, fond memories of riding a tractor with a grandfather long ago.

Sounds more fun than playing with EDGAR. But you can do both farming and legal practice, if you like:

Nate Litwin, a Tennessee lawyer, is ready to move to Iowa or any place he can farm with his wife, Karen, also a lawyer, and raise their 5-year-old daughter, Lucy. He recently visited three farm families in Iowa. He, too, plans to continue his legal work.

“A lot of people say, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ I say, ‘We definitely do,'” he says. “They say farming is a tough life. At the same time, they tell me about all the great times they had growing up. I was speaking to one farmer who said equipment is so much money and it’s a lot of work. …. I said, ‘You’ve been doing it 30 years. Why not quit?’ He stopped in his tracks.”

Sponsored

If moving to Iowa to farm sounds too extreme, there are smaller steps you can take. For example, you can raise your own chickens. If it’s good enough for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, then it should be good enough for you.
Lawyers, factory workers, dentist: future farmers? [AP]
Lawyers Seek Green Acres Life Through Iowa Farming Program [ABA Journal]

Sponsored