I articled for the now defunct law firm of Goodman and Carr. It was a well-regarded firm in its day. Wolfe Goodman was a senior partner and a leading tax lawyer of his era. In my tax rotation, I spent considerable time with him. He made tax sound so interesting that there was even a brief moment in time that I thought I wanted to be a tax lawyer.
I was 24 years old when I started my articles, and I had not yet made it out of the stage of wanting to use my law degree to help the poor and oppressed. I had not yet come to the realization that doing so would pretty much guarantee that I would become one of them.
In any event, Mr. Goodman could see that I did not quite get the social utility of his life’s work of helping people keep their money away from the government. He tried to explain it by saying, “Rich people have problems, too.”
I never became a tax lawyer, but with those words, Wolfe Goodman launched me in the direction of corporate/commercial law, where I toiled for 40 years and did indeed assist many affluent people to minimize their taxes, among other more satisfying pursuits.
We all have a very personal definition of what it means to be successful in the legal profession. For some, it is about how much money they can earn. For others, it is about being known for their expertise, or the pure enjoyment that they derive from solving intellectual puzzles. Still others care deeply about helping their clients. And then, there are those for whom it is a combination of all four.
We are not all the same, and that is fine. The problems arise when there is a mismatch between our definition of success and the definition promulgated by our firms or our partners, accompanied by an attitude that conformity is required to succeed at that firm. Such conflicts inevitably lead to resentment and unhappiness. There are three solutions for a lawyer in this situation: change yourself (which is difficult and may be undesirable); change the firm (which is likely impossible and the attempt stressful); or vote with your feet.
Voting with your feet is usually the correct answer.
Coming back to my articles, I was not hired back by Goodman and Carr. There are many reasons for that, but the deciding factor was that I was not a very good articling student. I think Mr. Goodman liked me and could see my potential, or he was just a kind and compassionate person. After telling me he was not on the hiring committee, and implying (without ever stating) that had he been the person making the decision, I may have been hired back, he reassured me by saying: “It is pretty good being Wolfe Goodman at Goodman and Carr, but I would not want to be one of the first year associates.” I suspect he was telling the truth.
This article was originally published by Law360 Canada, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.