With surprising frequency, lawyers express regret over their decision to pur
\nsue a legal career. Given the high incidence of depression, anxiety, poor mental
\nhealth, and thoughts of self-harm among members of the profession, it is per
\nhaps not surprising that many lawyers see the reality of their lives in practice
\nas very different from the idealistic, aspirational life in the law they entertained
\nand wanted when deciding to pursue a legal career. Both before and after law school, various institutional, economic, and psychological factors risk imperiling or derailing the meaningful and purpose-driven life that many lawyers desire. This interdisciplinary article uses ethics and literature and the human
\nities\u2014specifically Leo Tolstoy\u2019s novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych\u2014to examine
\nhow lawyers might pursue a meaningful and purpose-driven life within an otherwise challenging profession and in the face of certain mortality.
\nThough written nearly 150 years ago, Tolstoy\u2019s novella, which addresses
\nthemes and questions about suffering and death, as well as spirituality and
\nmoral life\u2014and specifically a moral, purpose-driven life relative to one\u2019s pro
\nfessional life\u2014finds contemporary resonance with a modern legal profession
\nthat is increasingly antithetical to lawyers\u2019 happiness, health, and satisfaction
\nwith their chosen career. Tolstoy\u2019s protagonist, an accomplished judge by any
\nmeans, would fit well within the sobering statistics about contemporary lawyer
\ndepression. As such, the story of his suffering, death, and ultimate redemption
\noffers much to lawyers, specifically in its emphasis on service as a means of
\nfomenting a purpose-driven life. It also offers new ideas for revisiting and
\namending existing institutional systems and ethical guidelines within the profes
\nsion\u2014specifically the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools\u2014to help lawyers find and maintain a meaningful and purpose-driven life in the law.<\/p>\n
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