The structured path of a legal career gives participants nice strategic goals with which to motivate themselves to the next level. Students have exams, trainees have qualification and qualified lawyers have career progression (hopefully). Bearing that in mind, it is probably fair to assume that many wannabe lawyers encounter very similar trials and tribultions, albeit at different points in their careers. Anyone come across this one…?

"The Wall has to be one of the most common reasons people don’t pursue their academic careers further than they do.  Almost all people run into it eventually.  Most of us hit it in undergrad, and the remainder hit it in post-graduate or professional school."

Law is Cool sets out this common career conundrum in a recent post but we’re not sure it should be limited to just the academic bit.

"Symptoms of hitting the wall include constant fatigue, difficulty paying attention in class, increased tendency to procrastinate (that is, even more than usual), increased frequency of foul language and repetition of obnoxious complaints such as “I can’t take this anymore,” and “I just wanna be done already!”"

Remind you of anyone?

"It’s easy to tell who never hits it because they’re now our professors.  Their lust for knowledge has clearly enabled them to not only survive with their sanity intact, but enjoy a life of perpetual academia.  But they’re obviously a minority."

Or that perpetually cheerful partner that relishes even the most mundane legal task, again – obviously a minority. Any of this concern you right now, have no fear, according to this optimistic commentator:

"Upon hitting the wall, pretty much everyone pushes through and perseveres until they graduate.  Rather than drop out we tend to just finish what we started and move onto bigger and better things"

So on that happy note, we can only suggest you keep your coffee cup at least half full, leap those walls and think of bigger and better things.