Newly qualified lawyers are not known for being mature, confident, well-rounded, and psychologically sound. And why should we expect them to be? Most of them are young, having just emerged from years of student life. Few have had a significant prior career. They have likely graduated, with substantial debt, from schools that have not adequately trained them to practice law.
Say what you will about Big Law (and I say plenty of unflattering things about them), at least when they hire a junior lawyer, they give them a generous salary and benefits, and more often than not, appropriate training and mentoring.
I was spending time with some young folks the other night. I heard a phrase which was new to me, but apparently not to the rest of the world. “C’s get degrees” has something to do with prioritizing the enjoyment of life, and physical and mental health, over stressing out to achieve high grades. Are the people who live by this adage low on ambition or high on life? I really don’t know. I suppose that it depends on your perspective.
This is my very first article that is not about the legal profession – but it might as well be.
I know a recently graduated professional, finally free to make his mark on the world, and eager as hell to go out and make something of himself. It is not an easy job market out there, as we have all heard. It apparently has something to do with us evil Boomers having ruined the world, but that is a topic for another day.
My friends Jim and Sheila love dogs. They used to share their residence with a rescue dog named Henry. Dragons live forever, but not so little dogs. So when Henry got sick and his demise was imminent, Jim built a coffin for Henry so that it would be ready when needed to carry Henry to his final resting place in the woods.
While Jim was building his coffin, Henry would see him working on it. After it was finished, Henry could see the coffin, just sitting there and waiting for him.
Many years ago, I knew a young couple who were very much in love. The young lady loved the idea of pleasing her parents and impressing her friends by marrying a good-looking boy with a promising career. The young man was in love with the idea of having a pretty girl on his arm who would respect and adore him. They were both in love with the idea of moving on to the stage of life that today’s young people call “adulting.”
A holocaust survivor who I know once asked me, “who says you are supposed to be happy?”
Paul is a junior lawyer. His supervising lawyer expects every document that Paul creates to be perfect. In order to ensure that this standard is met, all of Paul’s draft documents, no matter how routine, are reviewed and often revised. Paul resents the extra time that is required to achieve that standard, especially since he is working many, many hours.
I have been on many cruise ships. On every single one there was a daily meeting listed in the schedule of events for the Friends of Bill W. and Doctor Bob. After my first 10 or 12 cruises, I remarked to someone that these fellows must cruise a lot, because they have been on every cruise that I have taken. After laughing hysterically, my acquaintance informed me that Bill W. and Doctor Bob were the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, that they were no longer alive, and therefore most likely not on the ship, and that the listed event was a 12-step meeting for Alcoholics.
Getting into a Partnership can be exciting. Staying in one is often more of a mixed bag. But exiting a partnership? Now we have something to talk about!
Some of my best client work involved partnership break-ups. They can become very nasty, very quickly.