Evolution Solution
It’s OK to be human—even if you’re a lawyer.
And if you’re a human lawyer who’s not exactly happy, check out The Lawyer’s Guide to Being Human: How to Bring Who You Are to What You Do, a just-published book by Michigan solo Timothy D. Batdorf.
When Batdorf became dissatisfied with big-firm life, he opened his own estate planning shop in Troy, Mich. Yet the more things changed, the more they seemed to stay the same. “I still felt like a paper pusher,” Batdorf says.
So he turned inward. He adopted a holistic approach to his practice and started training to become a professional coach. In 2005, he officially added to his law practice an additional client roster: young lawyers searching for fulfillment in their legal lives.
“I think lawyers can be happy in any type of situation. It’s just about being introspective enough to find out what brings meaning to your practice,” says Batdorf.
With chapter titles such as “Live in the Possibilities” and “Trust Your Intuition,” Batdorf shares personal anecdotes and motivational messages he hopes will help lawyers along their individual paths to enlightenment.
“I think in our generation there’s a sense that work is important, but it’s not an either/or thing—it doesn’t have to be horrible or nothing,” he says.
“There may be a possibility that we can do what we do and find satisfaction, and maybe even meaning.”
