Personal Lives
Law Practice Fear Factor: Caging the Tiger
Posted Apr 23, 2008, 11:54 am CDT
By Martha Neil
There's one common denominator among law students and lawyers in virtually any practice area: fear, says a Dallas psychotherapist who provides career coaching to lawyers.
So learning to deal effectively with the constant concern that making a major mistake or losing a client or a case could eliminate a lawyer's job is critical to a successful legal career, James Dolan writes in a Texas Lawyer column.
Many lawyers, especially litigators, even enjoy the fear factor and the extra excitement it lends to life when one is successful at high-risk activities, he notes. But it can also be a debilitating drag on day-to-day achievement.
"Dealing with fear is something like owning a tiger," Dolan writes. "We must completely understand and be aware of its instinctual behavior. If we don't, the tiger may one day have us for lunch." While it is a necessary and even valuable part of a lawyer's life, it can be safely caged, he points out. "(O)nce we own the tiger, we don't have to take it with us everywhere we go."
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