You bring up so many valid points in your post. The brutal commute due to poor public transportation, lack of free time and family time for coaching children... this is exactly what we are dealing with right now.

And what's worse, on the weekends my husband is just so burnt out and tired that he does't have the energy on the weekends to engage with the kids.

He's also been complaining of back pain and I am beginning to wonder if it is more stress related than physical....

During the "yuppie period" of the late 1980's investment banking began to take the "cream of the crop", meaning the top 10% of prestigious law schools and business schools alike. In 1984 $50,000 or so (from memory, maybe my numbers are wrong) was a top-tiered salary for a first year associate in a major law firm. That mushroomed to $200,000 or so (again from memory) by 1990, in response to "competition" from investment banks. In fact, a close friend left the practice...