Originally published on August 16, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.
Will Meyerhofer's agent coined the title "the people's therapist" when Meyerhofer, a former biglaw lawyer, explained his sliding fee scale for his therapy practice. When his clients first visit him, he asks them to name the fee they can afford. He runs his practice from his living room with comfortable furniture and tasteful art adorning the walls. Simon, a wire-haired mini dachshund, playfully lounges nearby."The sliding scales causes my salary to behave like a roller coaster, but I believe in the ideal of 'to each according to his means, from each according to his ability,'" he tells me. "I always, always put a person in front of money. My mistake when I was a lawyer was that I was too focused on the money."
From Sullivan & Cromwell to Barnes & Noble
Two years into his law career at Sullivan & Cromwell, Will received a performance review suggesting that he "do something else." Once he overcame the initial shock, he took a long look in the proverbial mirror and agreed. He just didn't know how to find that something else. He soon moved to Barnes & Noble's online division, and quickly established himself as a valuable part of their marketing department.
"A job is a role and an identity, not a task. Our work is an expression of who we are. I needed to figure out who I was and who I wasn't. I'm not a team player, I can't stand hierarchy, and I don't like details. I realized I could actually love the person I was, rather the person I was trying to be as an attorney."
After several years, he raised his hand to take a package when Barnes & Noble downsized and enrolled in Hunter College to obtain a Masters in Social Work. Right out of Hunter, he signed on at Saint Vincent's Hospital to run a free program to educate gay men about HIV prevention. He often saw patients for 11 hours a day. Despite once again working biglaw hours, he had a passion for his work.
A Private Practice and Writing Career Blooms
Will's private practice grew from his work at Saint Vincent's. The program at the hospital lasted for a set number of weeks, so his clients often asked if they could continue to see him for private sessions. Two and a half years after its commencement, Saint Vincent's dropped the program, leaving Will to focus on his private practice full time.
"Today my practice consists of lawyers and law students, gay men, and hipsters and artists in equal percentages. They're 18-80 years old from every ethnic background. This practice is really an honor for me. I learn so much from my patients."
With a book on its way to publication, a radio show, and a possible reality TV series in his near future, Will never finds himself idle. As his agent shopped his book to publishers, Will started a blog, The People's Therapist. The blog caught the attention of Above the Law, which offered Will a column after an initial interview resulted in more than 20,000 page views.
A Young Lawyer's Unbearable Debt
I asked Will about the problems his lawyer clients face. His eyes grow wide at the question.
"I know where a lot of these people have been. I know what it's like to be unhappy and to feel trapped. It's painful. And I tell them they have every right to feel exactly the way they feel. I was there, too. I get it."
The subject of today's price tag for a law degree touches a nerve in Will. It immediately riles him, and his passion for the subject comes through in his eyes, voice, and hand gestures. The subject occupies center stage in much of his writing.
"It's criminal what law schools are doing today. 25 year olds have been sold a dream that doesn't exist. They enter their careers saddled with as much as $250,000 of debt that crushes them financially, physically, and emotionally. To make the payments, they end up having to work at big firms that treat them horribly, and soon they are curled up in a corner bawling. Their first words to me are, 'How did I do this?' They feel trapped."
Will goes on to explain the crisis that he sees coming for the legal profession as more and more lawyers are pumped out into a market that has fewer and fewer spaces in large firms. I ask him about the responsibilities that schools should bear for these actions, if any.
"It costs next to nothing for a school to educate a law student: one professor lectures to a packed lecture hall. Law schools are cash cows for universities. It's no coincidence that the President of NYU used to be the President of NYU's law school. It's fraud. These law schools sell false dreams to impressionable, young, eager minds. The students want so much to please and the schools take advantage. And the worst part of it? Law graduates don't even know how to be lawyers. They've spent 3 years on theory, not on learning how to be lawyers. It's a travesty."
A Grope Towards Hope
Will has me agreeing that the situation seems hopeless. So how exactly does he help the hopeless achieve hope?
"For an hour a week, they can come into this room and say whatever they need to say to get this all out. I don't judge them. I don't tell them what to do. I don't tell them that they should feel lucky. I just try to help them to stop beating themselves. All I really want to do is help them steer the ship an inch in a better direction. We need each other to heal."
Closing Argument
Will walks me around his apartment before I leave. He has an extensive and eclectic art collection and an amazing view of New York Harbor. His collection of artifacts illustrates his wide-reaching travels and his love for cultures and histories not his own.
"I'm just a big pile of mush. I just want to help people be happy, you know what I mean? Life is a brief opportunity for joy."
I do. I get it. Will takes his role as a healer very seriously. He lives in a constant state of learning, growing, and evolving. He wants his clients to do the same.
"So, big hugs! This has been so much fun! Let's be friends. Invite me to your parties," he says to me as he opens the door so I can take my leave.
And I know he means it. And when I promise him I will, I mean it, too. Nothing beats authenticity. Our world, inside and outside the big law firms, could use more of it. Will works every day to move us in that direction, one client at a time.
How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
