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William St. Guthlac · 07-18-2025, 04:36 AM

Well, I was going to tag into my old thread about Martha stuff but it seems to have been deleted. Anyway it was a long time back.

I got the job. Legal services, in a much, much better organization than the one I left.

Basically, it is federally subsidized (for now anyway) legal services for people who meet the certain criteria. Income below a certain level, no violent history, and so on within a somewhat restricted range of issues. For instance we do not do criminal or fee generating cases, or anything approaching conflicts with previous cases or clients.

I landed on my feet, getting a job in the Family Law unit. Commute is right in town, office is bigger and brighter and homier. A converted board home instead of one of those dim, low ceiling, 1970s administrative horrors.

I was hired in large part based on my criminal law background, and about half my docket consists of domestic violence cases, whether divorce, protective orders, or child custody. For much of my life I wondered at the jumbled nonsense in my background. A tale told by an idiot, seemingly. But with this job the desperate threads all come together. This job is much more fulfilling than criminal. Criminal was basically archaeology, or taxidermy. Everything was in the past, some unhappy snapshot of a done thing. This work is prospective. People can be protected, set free, made stronger, made safer. Problems can be averted in advance.

It takes everything I've got, is the only drawback. Weekends are purely recuperation.

Thanks to a number of you for your prayers. This is the best job in my life. Certainly a surprise at this stage of the game.

enchantmentadm · 07-18-2025, 03:07 PM

William, I am glad the "new gig" is working out for you. I worked for legal services for 10 years, including my years as a VISTA volunteer. By the end, I could not get out fast enough. I got burned out on dealing with needy clients who just could not get their lives together. It was like being 50 percent lawyer and 50 percent social worker. I did domestic relations law for a while and hated it. These were the only cases that literally made me lose sleep. This was not my choice but these cases were dumped on my lap due to a staffing shortage. For a while, it was just the executive director and myself. At least my experience representing claimants in Social Security cases got me a very good job with the agency, where I stayed until I retired a few years ago. It was a relief not having to deal with clients.

Be aware that legal services jobs have a high burnout rate. I found self-care to be critical. It is good that you are using your weekends to recuperate.

I hope that the job continues to be a positive experience for you.