Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I try to engage other legal professionals in conversation. Sooner or later the conversation gets around to the defining question, "So, what are you doing with your law degree?" Each has a different tale to tell.
Dissatisfaction with the Job
As one might well imagine, the responses, depending on the creativity of the proponent, are generally that she is doing this, or he is doing that, often qualifying the current status with the fact that the person is looking for a new job-- a job with a judge, a job with a small firm, a position with a big firm, an opening in a medium sized firm, yadda-yadda-yadda. The individual diligently proffers personal evidence to justify what he is doing, or what he is about to do.
Ultimately, what they are all really saying, or at least what one reads between the lines, is that they are experiencing varying degrees of disenchantment with their current positions and that they are secretly contemplating their next career move.
A Lifestyle, Not Just A Job
Most of these people are in the process of discovering that being a lawyer is not a job, but a lifestyle. Being and attorney is an identity, personal and professional; this is more true today than it has ever been. If this were not the case, then why those incessant lawyer jokes?
Personal and professional fulfillment is a rare commodity for individuals working in the profession. This should not be! As a lawyer, one had both the autonomy to define his or her professional persona and the skills to live it. This self-definition is and expedient process for making one's legal career enriching and gratifying. (If you cannot define your current role and align it with your life's prime directives, it is time for change.)
So, why is being a lawyer a "lifestyle?" Because the essence of that lawyers do is problem solving-- solving of clients' real life problems within a complex clash of facts, rules and laws obscured by societal norms, social inequities, human emotions, actors' deed and parties expectations. And, just to spice up the mix, the interaction of these ingredients is unique for every case. One's approach to resolution of clients' problems will be indicative of one's personal problem solving style, hence, practice methodology is necessarily self-defining. One cannot function outside of one's own unique assets and limitations. Because an attorney's client problem solving skills are comprised of the same experience, education, and talents that are employed to run his or her personal life, being a lawyer is a lifestyle-- a product of an individual's unique way of life.
How the "Lifestyle" Viewpoint Benefits the SSFP of the Future
What attorneys bring to the party is knowledge, clarity of thought, and experience. If an attorney has a nine to five view of life, most clients are going to find that professional a cold, myopic, money oriented and expensive form-scrivener. The contemporary client wants a problem solver who involves him or her, a team member who speaks his or her language, someone who works harder than he or she does, and demonstrates sincerity in dealing with the client's problem. Outside of a solo, small firm or boutique practice, that kind of attention is given only to the "mega-buck" accounts. But, these are the keys to being successful in a solo, small firm or boutique practice. Use them!
We all know that there are a ton of lawyers out there. We have heard about the crop that graduates every May, and increasingly, every December. Getting a legal education is not as rare as it used to be. That is why it takes more that just education to be a success in the practice of law in the shadow of the third millennium.
No one knows what the future holds, but if we look at corporate America as a guide, we see merger, downsizing, job elimination, etc. The message is clear. There is no security under the big-business umbrella. That is why small and home-based businesses number more than six million this year. Ultimately, solo, small firm and boutique practices are the future for the majority of devotees of the practice of law.
So, now that you know, what are you going to do about your future? There is no time like today to start your own practice!