WELCOME
I love being a lawyer…and I hate being a lawyer. Never did I imagine that I would have a career with such highs, and such lows. When I left law school I thought I had my path figured out. Get a job at a firm, make partner, live “the good life.” What really happened? The good news is, by most people’s standards, I do lead “the good life.” However, road to what we commonly call the good life is aging me in dog years.
A TRIP WITH NO MAP
The road to get here was an uncharted course. I could not find a map to guide me. I looked for a blueprint, but I couldn’t find one. So, I made it all up along the way. I read everything there was on starting a law firm, becoming a great trial lawyer, the secrets of successful entrepreneurs. I borrowed ideas from anyone who would give them (I threw a lot of them out as well). I looked outside of law to see how physicians, accounts, and blue chip companies handled similar issues. I plugged in to the brain power of every person smarter than me I could find. I made mistakes, lots of mistakes. Through a combination of extraordinary luck (I mean a lot of luck), help from friends, and my own ignorance of what I couldn’t do, things have worked out. Using most lawyer’s measuring sticks, I have made it to “the good life.”
I loved the journey here. It allowed me to develop a creative side I didn’t know I had. I got to play mad scientistic with my own business. I was fortunate enough to help a lot of wonderful people (and a few assholes as well.) I became infected with a sense of self worth and validation which I had never known. I believe no other profession could have given me such an opportunity. I tested myself, and I passed. It was a great trip.
I hated the journey here. There was a constant anxiety over cash flow, taxes and overhead. I had a partnership. I broke up the partnership. As of my latest count, I nearly went insane about 300 times. That includes several “pity parties” and “shame spirals.” I neglected my health. I could not see why I continued to work in this self-destructive career. It was a horrible trip. As it turned out, there was a fine print at the bottom of my law school diploma which was blinding. I could not see when I left law school that I was not prepared for my trip. I never understood the fine print – until now.
Now, I know what I want. I actually am doing exactly what I want and should be doing. I am a criminal defense lawyer that continually gets to go to trial. I am actually doing what exactly what I want, and I love it…and there are still many times I hate it. It took several reinventions of my legal career to get this far. It is now time to reinvent things again. However, this time, I want to include everyone else in the remodel. I want to open up my idea bank and borrow from others. The exchange of ideas about reinventing our legal career is the purpose Legal Coffee.
My trip is not over. I got a long way to go. I got some knew plans for the next leg of the journey. It time for all of us to make a new map for our legal careers.
MAP MAKING
The first thing we need to do to create our new map is decide where we want to go. What is under the “X” on your map? Common answers are “make a lot of money,” “be successful,” or be “the best.” Those are fine goals. Some of them lay under the “X” on my map. However, let’s think a little bigger.
What do we do as lawyers? Before you answer, think big. Here is a typical small thinking answer: “I help people win in court.” How about “change your world, a tiny bit at a time.”
When you spend years figuring out a better ways to explain burden of proof to juries (and judges), and you actually shift their worldview, you have changed your world. When you show another lawyers what it ethics really means and nudge them there behavior in the right direction, you change your world.
Lawyers, more than any other professional, have the power to change their world. This ability, is where the beauty and artistry of our craft lies. These goals are worthy of being put at the end of your Map. A funny thing happens when you put goals like these at the destination of your map: the money, success and validation you sought seems to become a byproduct of these pursuits.
DANGEROUS TERRITORY TO COVER
Law is hard. Maybe too hard if you want to do right. Your map is going to cover some tough terrain. Hey, you signed up for this. You were attracted to the challenge. No complaining once you get what you asked for, right?
Since I have been down this road before, I have a pretty good idea where the most dangerous parts are located. Whether it’s getting past the fact that there are simply not enough hours in the day to finish everything that needs to get done; Or that there are not enough answers to limitless questions you face daily, being a lawyers is really hard.
However, all our professional challenges can be overcome. After all we are lawyers. Solving problems, fixing the unfixable, and putting the pieces back together is what we do.
YOUR MAP IS ONLY FOR YOU
Your map is something new. It is something never seen before. Following the path of the status quo leads to an unwanted prize. We already know how to be an average lawyer. We already know how to be miserable. What we have not invented yet is the road to the career we want.
REGISTER & CREATE YOUR MAP – its free!
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