There must be a fair few lawyers in my position or have been in my position. I’m 40, senior associate at a City firm. I just can’t do it anymore - everything is so hard and I’m fed up of turning 200 page SPAs at midnight. I’m tired all the time (naturally), I find it hard to focus and I’m spending too much time scrolling on Instagram, exacerbating my late finishes. I’m starting to feel like I get worse at my job with each year than better. I’m 15 PQE and my salary is £185k. If I could find an inhouse job that matched my salary I would grab it with both hands but they don’t exist. I can’t afford a pay cut without a huge life style change. I don’t want to be a partner - it looks like an awful life. Do I look for a Counsel role at a US firm (get paid more for allegedly similar hours) or hold out for this elusive inhouse role? There’s no point going to another City firm, they’re all the same.
I just need an oracle to tell me what to do.