Tag: attorneys

Categories
Firm Culture

The Lunatic Fringe

Two rams butting heads.
Photo by Pixabay at Pexels.

Back in the day, there was a law firm in which the partners were – how do I say it sort of nicely – not ‘culturally aligned.’

Sam was the Managing Partner. He was charming and charismatic, and nice to everybody, at least most of the time.  Aligned with him were enough partners to vote with him on everything that mattered, sometimes more out of personal loyalty or ignorance than conviction.

Gordon was the other high billing partner with a huge client base, which qualified him to lead a group of dissidents. He and Sam tended to be competitive about things such as compensation.

read more about law firm culture “The Lunatic Fringe”
Categories
Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Living Well in the Legal Profession

Young man skiing wearing a shirt and shorts.
Photo by Andie Venzl at Pexels.

Doug was an Associate at my first law firm. Martin was our boss.

Just after lunch on my first Friday at the office, Doug said to me, “Any minute now Martin is going to come into my office with a file that absolutely, positively, has to be completed by Monday morning. He does this every Friday to be certain that I have to work on the weekend. He must tell the clients to hold off on giving us files until Friday morning.”

read more about finding happiness in the legal profession “Living Well in the Legal Profession”
Categories
Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Mental Health:  Marketing or Operations?

Womanmeditating.
Photo by Natalie at Pexels

I like to bake bread. In my opinion, and in the opinion of a family member named Aidan, the crust is the best part of my bread.  When he was younger, Aidan would sometimes help himself to both end pieces. I did not like that.

Once, Aidan asked if it was okay for him to take a slice of my freshly baked bread as it was cooling on the counter. I told him to take just one slice.  The next thing I knew he had sliced the entire top of the bread off and was happily munching way.

When I confronted him, Aidan was not particularly remorseful. He said, “you said that I could have a slice. You didn’t say anything about how I had to slice it.”

read more about law firms and mental health initiatives “Mental Health:  Marketing or Operations?”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

The View From the Bottom of the Pyramid

Ancient Pyramids
Photo by David McEachan at Pexels.

Throughout my years as a partner, managing partner, practice group leader and supervising lawyer, I used to speak to young lawyers who told me what they thought that I wanted to hear. Things like how much they loved their jobs, how supportive the firm was, and how they loved working evenings and weekends. They were quite right. That is exactly what I wanted to hear.

read more about what young lawyers don’t know “The View From the Bottom of the Pyramid”
Categories
Law Firm Management

Those Who Got Away

Man loading is things into a box marked "Fired."
Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA at Pexels

Let me tell you about a lawyer named Josh. Josh was not very good. Everybody said so, especially the partner who was his practice group leader.  Eventually the firm redirected Josh’s career path. He moved on and started his own practice. Josh did very well on his own. He developed a great reputation in the profession practicing the same type of law that he was not good enough to practice at his old firm.

read more about firms letting good lawyers get away “Those Who Got Away”
Categories
Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

My Journey From Law To Mental Health *

The author paddling a canoe.

It took me eight years after I first realized that my life in law was not working for me until I was fully retired. It went like this:

2012: Best financial year ever. Worked incredibly hard in the last quarter. My hours in November and December were insane. I was so proud of myself. Got a huge slice of the compensation pie.

January 2013: Went to the doctor worried that I was not well enough to go on a trip to Australia for a meeting of our international association. Diagnosed with a thyroid issue. The doctor said it had nothing to do with the stress of my career. I did not believe him.

read more about my journey into retirement “My Journey From Law To Mental Health *”
Categories
The Practice of Law

The Difference Between a Rut and A Grave

Old grave stones.
Photo by Mike B at Pexels.

When asked about my complaints about the legal profession, I am forced to admit that back before I escaped the profession and became happy, I did in fact have some good days.  Three of them. (Okay, I am kidding about that last bit. There were more good days than that.)

read more about being in a rut in the legal profession “The Difference Between a Rut and A Grave”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Tell Me Another Story from the Old Days, Grandpa

Couple sitting on the back of their vehicle with their heads down and boxes behind them.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska at Pexels.

As a recession may be looming and Banks may be enforcing their mortgages, I thought that I would share this story from the recession in the early 1990’s.

There was a law firm that did volume mortgage remedy work for a Canadian Bank. A somewhat junior real estate lawyer who I will call Barbara managed the files. The work was somewhat routine but required precision and organizational skills, and Barbara did it well and earned a reasonable salary.

read more about making career Decisions “Tell Me Another Story from the Old Days, Grandpa”
Categories
Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

You Can’t Fix Crazy

Woman with contorted face.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels.

“Lawyers make wonderful (psychiatric) patients: they have excellent health insurance and they never get better.” Niles Crane on Frasier

As a completely unqualified, amateur mental health consultant, I have diagnosed myself with post-professional stress syndrome which I believe results from my forty-year legal career. My symptoms are not sleeping well and worrying too much, even in retirement when on any rational basis I have very little to worry about.

read more about not letting the legal profession drive you crazy “You Can’t Fix Crazy”
Categories
Client Development

If You’re So Smart, Why Ain’t You Rich?

Female Professor with complicated scribbles on the blackboard.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels.

My father used to ask, “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” 

There are probably a million things that are wrong with that question, but his basic point is worth considering. He was asking why it is that some people believe that they know better concerning just about everything, but they do not generate any results from their supposed brilliance.

read more about why some intelligent lawyers are not good at bringing in clients “If You’re So Smart, Why Ain’t You Rich?”