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&lt;p&gt;When I lived in Washington, DC, I regularly frequented the delicious bakery CakeLove to buy cupcakes for friends’ birthdays, or just to snag a few fresh-baked morsels from the free sample plate. &#160;According to CakeLove’s website, its founder Warren Brown “left a career practicing law to pursue his passion for baking.” That was nearly 15 years ago, and today the DC food scene is full of ex-attorneys, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/09/12/lawyers-who-switch-careers-find-happiness-in-baking-tech-and-other-fields/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;reports&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;The Washington Post&lt;/em&gt;. In DC you can find cake companies, an ice cream shop, wine bars and even a sloppy joe food truck that were all founded by lawyers who wanted more out of a career than brief-writing and due diligence. Other Beltway lawyers have started tech companies such as an online consignment shop, Snobswap, and a website called Activity Rocket that helps busy parents sign their kids up for extra-curricular activities. Not surprisingly, these entrepreneurs reported to the &lt;em&gt;Post&lt;/em&gt; that their new ventures fulfill their desires to be creative in a way that a legal career did not. Some report using their legal skills (such as contract interpretation) on a regular basis; others prefer to leave such tasks to their paid attorneys (which would certainly be my preference).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Any JD who has thought about leaving the practice of law to pursue other goals, whether it be opening a wine store, a woodworking shop or a tech startup, should find these examples inspiring. It takes a lot of guts and planning to go from a career as an attorney to starting a small business, a notoriously risky venture. Then again, the legal business can be a risky one these days too. The important choice that these ex-lawyers made was to apply their strong work ethic and independent thinking to projects that they found exciting, rather than continuing on a path that was not making them happy. &#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;DISCLAIMER: There is a difference in believing “you can do anything with a law degree” &lt;em&gt;after&lt;/em&gt; you have decided lawyering isn’t for you, and going to law school &lt;em&gt;because&lt;/em&gt; of that belief. The latter is a mistake in this day and age. Leaving your legal career behind because it’s making you miserable, to pursue something you love? No regrets! And potentially, lots of &#160;cash (and/or cupcakes).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Follow me on Twitter &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/vaultlaw&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;@VaultLaw&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/09/12/lawyers-who-switch-careers-find-happiness-in-baking-tech-and-other-fields/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Lawyers who switch careers find happiness in baking, tech and other fields&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;/blog/vaults-law-blog-legal-careers-and-industry-news/what-does-the-declining-law-school-application-rate-mean-for-you/&quot;&gt;What does the declining law school application rate mean for you?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Nicole Weber

Article

What Does the Declining Law School Application Rate Mean for You? 

The Library