Osler's Razor

I worked at a big law firm until I couldn't take it anymore. It was soul-sucking.

It is good you distinguish between large firms and small ones.
 

How are large law firms inconsistent with Christian faith? How are small firms more consistent? Do large law firms differ from any publicly traded company who has a duty to shareholders to maximize profits? Are there moral markets? Should there be?
 

Michael-- have you worked for a large law firm? It's a... unique environment for a young lawyer.

I said why I think it may be inconsistent with Christian vocation in the article: Because it is amoral. As a young associate, you have to work for the side you are assigned, regardless of the morality of that position. Your days may be spent advocating for a position your faith opposes.

That is different, I think, than an entrepreneur who starts a business (or sustains one), and has some agency over the product or service he provides.
 

I've worked at a large firm since I graduated law school. It's been hard at times but it's been a good place to develop as a lawyer and am thankful to have a job. On occassion you represent an entity or person you may not morally agree with. But so do criminal defense attorneys and most lawyers, I would think. It's probably fair to say big law is amoral, but I would think so are most publicly traded companies who have duties to their shareholders.
 

Michael--

Excellent! I want to hear from more people in that situation.

I'm not saying that working for a big firm is wrong-- just that it presents particular challenges if you are Christian and want your faith to inform the decisions you make at work. There may be times that, if you want to keep your job, financial concerns will trump faith imperatives. I think this is more common in big law firms, because of the nature of the beast, than in other forms of employment.

Mostly, I think there is a problem with Christian law schools (and me, particularly) describing big law firms as the most desirable jobs simply because they pay the most.

As for publicly traded companies-- there, I think it is a different issue since you know going in what they produce. A tobacco company is one thing; a toy store another. With a big firm, you don't have that clarity going in.
 

I agree with Michael. This isn't just an issue with large law firms, but an issue with business (and that includes all sorts of industries-medical, educational---I could go on and on).

I understand the analogy of tobacco v. toys - but that is simplifying things. Companies and/or an employer sometimes ask their employees to do things that they may or may not be morally opposed to do b/c it's the company's (CEOs) current 'mission'...or b/c it drives marketshare or b/c it positively influences the balance sheet.

In my experience, you may have a great, say, toy job. But if you report to a person who's moral compass is different than yours, there may be some internal conflict. No matter how big or how small the company.


You law guys don't have the market on this.
 

I’m probably missing the point on big firms, markets, morality and duty. But can someone explain to me how does the financial disaster that left countless victims among shareholders, simply because of the so called duty to show profit play in the morality or amorality of markets discussion? Markets I’m told (I keep my meager savings in the mattress) have nothing to do with morality and everything to do with the bottom line. But what when the bottom line is manipulated in a way that is beyond amoral and more in a way that is criminal, albeit with impunity in that respect ( i.e. the “derivatives” wave of junk finance practice).
 

When I first read your post I saw "anathema . . . to the idea of vacation" and I thought - as a first year associate at a somewhat large size firm - amen to that. I agree with your point - it is hard to be a Christian in a big law firm; I struggle with that on a daily basis. I believe any job that is completely profit driven will lead to hard choices for Christians and this is magnified in the big law firm context. I also believe Christian law schools need to emphasize there is more to law than making money. Unfortunately, because of the high price of Christian law schools these days, young lawyers often have to take the highest paying job offered to pay back loans and don't have much freedom to consider how their Christianity and legal training can coexist. As much as I love my alma mater, I might have been a more effective Christian lawyer had I gone to a state law school and paid the much lower tuition.
 

@ Marta- Your points are valid. And certainly not missed.
Opposite of the tobacco v. toys argument, yours is the other extreme. And I understand it completely. Your argument about markets far surpasses the moral compass test. You are correct when you say markets all boil down to the bottom-line. Everything does, really.

What I am talking about is that middle ground with business (all sorts). I have known professors that have to openly compromise their true faith in order to feel like they can keep their jobs. I have also known people that in order to "get the business" do things that are not illegal, but are things that make them look at their Christian values and then say, "you know, this does not feel right". And yet, they do it, b/c it means more money, more job security, just....more. I have known physicians to order tests that are unnecessary, causing strain on the patients, their families and someone's pocket book (this is an entirely different discussion), just so their practice can bill more, make more, BE more.