Embrace sustainable goals. The start of a new year often inspires lofty resolutions, if not illusions of grandeur, about the habits we’ll develop and professional goals we’ll conquer: more billable hours, bigger matters, rapid career advancement and the like. Yet with the first quarter already behind us, the initial momentum has all but faded, and many attorneys find themselves buried under the weight of their ambitious goals and the pressure to consistently deliver at a high level.
Fourteen years ago, I wrote an article for a business journal that summarized a dinner conversation I had with my 4-year-old daughter. She asked me to explain “What is a re-sezz-ee-un?” By the end of our conversation, her greatest concern shining through her little green eyes was whether Santa Claus himself would be experiencing any effects of that “re-sez-ee-un.”
What are you going to do when you retire? That's usually the first question after the big announcement comes out. Everyone has plans, but retirees often discover that these were not as sustainable, lasting or rewarding as they'd thought, and they have empty hours to fill. At this point, developing meaningful alternatives can be overwhelming. Time passes, and opportunities are lost.
"Whistle while you work." That's what one of my mentors routinely told me as I trained to become a better football official. He would remind me that, even at your lowest point, when it feels like the whole world is against you, it is important to remember the reason you are there.
I’ve spent much of my career in the legal industry as a lawyer and a law firm business administrator. I don’t have the demographic profile of a typical American lawyer or even a typical BigLaw business director. My parents, Italian Americans from Greater Boston (one of whom is a second-generation American) did not graduate from college, and no one in their families went to law school or became a lawyer.
Lawyers are big on adhering to statutes and caselaw precedents, contractual provisions and the clauses of internal governance documents, employee handbook policies, and terms from codes of conduct. But what happens when there is ambiguity?
In his book, The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, Stephen M. R. Covey writes of a theoretical tax that is imposed in low trust environments—what he calls the “trust tax.”
Oral argument is the most visible part of appellate practice. And while lawyers differ on whether a good argument will change the outcome of your case, we can all agree that it’s the thing your clients and colleagues are most likely to see you doing. Not to mention the thrilling proposition that there may one day be a blurry artist’s rendering of you inside the Supreme Court.
"When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world." —Eckhart Tolle
Abraham Lincoln had two careers; one as a lawyer and one as a politician—professions known for severe moral and ethical dilemmas. Given the events of the time, Lincoln faced new levels of dilemmas as he made decisions that helped start the Civil War and those that would finally end the conflict—and slavery with it.
The ABA Journal wants to host and facilitate conversations among lawyers about their profession. We are now accepting thoughtful, non-promotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors.
