Question of the Week
What’s on Your Professional ‘Bucket List’?
Posted Sep 16, 2009 11:06 AM CST
By Sarah Randag
This week, ABAJournal.com noted how retired lawyer Jerry Loughran was able to scratch an item off of what the New York Times characterized as his "bucket list": Being a ball person at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
“Like many older Americans, he had a few things he wanted to get done after he retired a couple of years ago,” the Times said of Loughran. “Get into an episode of Law & Order. (Check.) Learn to play the piano. (Incomplete.) Skydive. (Incomplete.) Be an Open ball boy. (Check.)”
So, tell us: What's on your professional "bucket list"? What do you want to accomplish as a lawyer before you call it a career? Why did you choose the items on your list as your goals? And have you managed to scratch any items off yet?
Answer in the comments below.
Read the answers to last week's question (although, last week, we were asking for questions): What’s Holding You Back from Going Solo?
Featured question, which was one of five answered by Susan Cartier Liebel in the Legal Rebels tour crew's video interview with her Tuesday:
Posted by Lex: How do you find the appropriate mentors, who may have their own practices to feed . . . especially if you were a part-time student who never had the advantage of clerking because you already had a full-time job?
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Comments
associate
Sep 16, 2009 11:58 AM CST
Win a case (that’s a pretty tall order for a big firm transactional attorney).
Win an election (even if it’s just for my HOA, I just want to run in one and win it).
Invent something.
Move back to my home state.
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Studentloaner
Sep 17, 2009 2:54 AM CST
Convince one person not to go to law school.
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Unemployed&debtridden;
Sep 18, 2009 2:45 AM CST
Get a job that pays money.
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John A. davidson
Sep 18, 2009 5:47 AM CST
Get elected to the Congress of the United States.
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Nate
Sep 18, 2009 5:58 AM CST
Retire.
How exciting could a ‘professional bucket list’ be?
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Gina F. Rubel
Sep 18, 2009 6:13 AM CST
Finish the children’s books I started 11 years ago - get them published - and turn them into a cartoon series for PBS.
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Dave Ewert
Sep 18, 2009 6:57 AM CST
Removing the term “bucket list” from popular discourse.
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Bob from Oklahoma
Sep 18, 2009 7:26 AM CST
During my rein of attorneyship since law school I have been a defense attorney, a prosecutor, a judge, a mayor, a college professor, a mediator, a government contract attorney, a private civil practice attorney, and an advocate for child abuse. But, I never made any decent money from it. So the last thing on my “professional bucket list” would have to be, win the lottery!!!!
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David L
Sep 18, 2009 7:39 AM CST
Get my wife to earn!
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Bill
Sep 18, 2009 7:53 AM CST
I have to agree with Bob from Oklahoma. You can’t beat winning the lottery - big, of course.
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B. McLeod
Sep 18, 2009 8:34 AM CST
While I understand there are probable First Amendment issues, I still think it is awful for anyone to advocate for child abuse.
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Doug Echols
Sep 18, 2009 9:11 AM CST
I want to argue and win a case in the US Supreme Court. I have done it in the 10th circuit and numerous times in the State Supreme Court. I think that would be the pinnacle.
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Pogo Overmeyer
Sep 18, 2009 9:15 AM CST
To comment #11, you must not have teenagers.
For my professional “bucket list”, to be able to obtain health care insurance. I’ve applied to 22 companies and each has rejected me due to pre-existing conditions. I even had one inform me that once I was no longer an above-knee amputee, they would reconsider my application. So I suppose that is my second “bucket list” item to achieve…
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Howard
Sep 18, 2009 10:38 AM CST
Managing the San Diego Padres through winning the World Series !!!
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Frances
Sep 18, 2009 12:03 PM CST
Litigate and then argue “Bong Hits II” before the SCOTUS. My test case: a student wears a Bongs Hits for Jesus t-shirt, and when he is expelled for doing so, he exclaims that he is doing it to protest limitations on students’ free speech rights (rather than because he thought it was funny, which is what the first guy said). If strict scrutiny were applied, would the speech be protected?
I have, of course, threatened my kids with death if they even think of wearing my Bong Hits shirt to school.
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Hoping to remain Anonymous!
Sep 18, 2009 2:02 PM CST
1. Organize a CLE course on Real Estate Practice in New Hampshire for our Superior Court Judges and Supreme Court Justices so they would stop making the awful decisions they now make. 2. Find out how the Bar Exam is really scored and let the applicants for admission know. 3. Win a prize for posting a comment to one of these questions.
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Voice of reason
Sep 28, 2009 11:04 AM CST
I join #12 above in hoping to one day argue before the US Supreme Court and win the case. Actually, I’d settle just to be heard making an argument there.
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