Vicky was my associate many years ago. She was bright and ambitious. She wanted to learn and she worked hard. If you taught Vicky how to do something once, she would get it right every time after that.
My cruise took me to Saigon the other day. My tour guide was an enthusiastic young man named Hung. He explained that his generation wants to focus on making money and supporting their families, rather than dwelling in the past. When it comes to what the Vietnamese refer to as the “American War,” he said that they are willing to forgive, but not to forget.
I recently met with a law firm Associate of a recent vintage, whose employment was terminated after a short tenure at her firm. She has no idea why she was fired, for the simple reason that the firm has not told her. She had received no complaints about her work and had even been given a few compliments. In the legal world, that is just about a ringing endorsement.
Back when I was still willing to set foot in the United States, I booked a cruise from L.A. to Dubai.
But then war broke out in the Middle East, and the cruise line eliminated several ports from the itinerary, shortened my cruise by six days, and dropped me off in Cape Town.
My firm had a thriving real estate practice in the 1980’s. When the real estate market tanked from 1989 until about 1996, they were not happy times. We did not hire any real estate lawyers in those days.
Bob told me about his law firm exit interview with Joan from H.R. When Bob said that he was leaving due to the unreasonable workload, Joan was curious, because Bob was one of several associates who had left that department for the same reason. What surprised Joan was that in other departments, the associates were working many more hours, but no one was complaining, let alone quitting.
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.
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.”
~ Melody Beattie.
An old man takes his seat on an airplane. The attendant offers him a blanket and a pillow, and helps him settle in. She asks, “are you comfortable?” The old man replies, “I make a living.”
After we earn enough to cover our basis needs, how much more it takes to be comfortable depends on our values. Some people need money for luxury cars, jewelry, big houses in fancy neighbourhoods, and private schools. Others do not.
“Prepare the clone army!”
~ Dr. Evil
Back before today’s young lawyers were born, law firms and new lawyers had an unwritten social contract.
Firms were prepared not to make much money on newcomers. They made an investment to mentor, supervise, and train them. If the firm was lucky, it could cover its costs in the first year, and start making a profit in subsequent years. The new lawyers knew that they would have to put in some time before they could earn the big bucks, but if they hung in, a partnership would be offered within a reasonable time frame.
By Maureen T. McKay and Murray Gottheil
Recent events in Venezuela have us thinking about the expression, “might means right,” and what it means for our legal systems.