Chances are, when you were a kid you sat at the breakfast table with the morning paper. Your parents thought you were reading Garfield…you were actually looking at stock quotes or the local rental listings. You knew that as soon as you were able, you were outta there, baby!
Most of the attorneys I’ve worked with over the years had exactly this kind of self determination early on. It got them through law school and into some of Texas’ more successful firms. The fact that they knew what they wanted as kids was no surprise. The big surprise, to them at least, was that it wasn’t always what it was cracked up to be.
One of my favorite attorneys I ever worked with, I’ll call her Milly, was a great case in point. A textbook over achiever from the get go, she ended up with an associate’s position in litigation at one of the oldest law firms in Texas. And she was really, really good at it…until the migraines started…the colds that wouldn’t go away…the nausea before even the simplest motion hearing. We finally sat down one day after one of her migraine induced absences and had a chat about what she was doing with her life. I flat told her, “Look, woman, this stuff is killing you. You’ve got to figure out what you want to be when you grow up…and a litigation attorney is not it.”
She was a brilliant attorney but she didn’t have a contentious bone in her body. She was, and always had been, a people pleaser. You cannot be a litigator if you don’t want to tick people me off. That’s just one of those nasty little facts of life. After several of these “heart to hearts”, making lists of pros and cons, looking at other options that wouldn’t mean throwing away three years of law school, she came to a decision and took a position in house at a local children’s hospital in the Legal Department. It meant a serious cut in pay and less prestige than the big firm but it fit her. She’s still there and loves every single minute of every single day. She’s also married now with two little kids. Life is good…
So what does this have to do with defining yourself and defining your law practice? Simply this. If you approach your new practice with a firm idea of what you want from it, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what you’re really passionate about, you’ll save yourself months or even years of dissatisfaction and wondering what the heck you’re doing with your life. Really, seriously sit down and think about what makes you tick. Don’t think for a minute that getting that law degree is going to turn you into something you’re just not. If you’re a free spirit with a penchant for calling your own shots, don’t put yourself into a corporate practice. It will suck your soul dry and you’ll die inside a little every day. And that shiny new BMW is not going to make it any better in the long run.
Play to your strengths and your passions. Be happy with your choices. Define yourself, then define your practice…success is about doing what you love and loving what you do.
And, yes, Virginia, that even applies to lawyers..