Biglaw

Depression Makes You A Better Lawyer

By  
on

A little while ago, we asked our readers to tell us if their jobs are making them sick. Over 51% of our respondents reported feeling some kind of depression.
I guess that means we have some fantastic attorneys reading Above the Law. A new study from Australia says that general unhappiness has a positive correlation with many of the the skills great lawyers posses:

The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were told.

So the happy idiot is actually a very smart person cursed with a pleasant disposition?
I always thought that being a miserable bastard was a symptom of Biglaw success, not the cause of it:

“Our research suggests that sadness … promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations.”

More from bizarro world after the jump.


Okay, I’ll buy that sad people process information more rigorously. It makes sense. When you are unhappy everything feels like it is moving in slow motion anyway. But I’m not sure I can believe in all of the findings in this study:

People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a “mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style.”

Sponsored

So people who commit, say, hate crimes, are probably in a good mood when they decide to do it? I guess … that makes sense too?
It’s fascinating to think that there is a link between being in a bad mood and making a persuasive argument. And depressing. What kind of sick cosmic joke would it be if you had to be miserable in order to make a point?
Ultimately, I hope that this study is wrong. Work/life balance will be thrown overboard if somebody can prove that miserable associates make great associates.
Thinking negatively can boost your memory, study finds [Reuters]
Earlier: Work-Related Illnesses: Open Thread

Sponsored

Topics