Wednesday, September 10, 2008

I Should Have Such Problems

A couple of weeks ago, a lawyer in Nevada named Tami Cowden ran a couple of posts on her Appealing in Nevada blog about the odd number of resources available to lawyers who want to transition out of practice.

In her first post, she wondered, do other professions act like this?

In her second, she hits on one of the reasons that lawyers get discouraged about practicing law, and puts it in personal terms when she writes: "[I]n my more cynical moments, I have described commercial litigation as working for wealthy people who can’t get along."

I think that is a very common sentiment among litigators, especially among associates in big law firms. I had the same feeling myself on occasion when I was an associate. I even had an associate from the adverse firm express that sentiment to me about the case in which we faced each other! So, like many lawyers, I thought at times that there simply had to be better uses of my time.

I acted on that impulse, but by going into a different area of law rather than leaving it entirely.

Now, of course, I long for a few well-heeled clients, no matter how inane their problems, as long as I could turn those problems into paying work. Trust me, all you associates complaining about how your work is not rewarding — it could be a lot worse. You could be in my shoes. That thought won't get you through thirty years of an unsatisfying career, but it should provide at least temporary solace. Perhaps it will at least keep your work from suffering or give you a more sober view of your options.

I'm not trying here to belittle the concerns of lawyers facing career dissatisfaction. Remember, I was once in your shoes. I'm just providing a little perspective.

By the way. Ms. Cowden's second post goes on to describe a particularly satisfying occasion, which is worth reading about.

Back Up and Running

One of the problems with a struggling practice (beside the obvious financial hardship) is that it causes one — or causes me, more accurately — to think from time to time that if I can just make it past — X being whatever obstacle I see in my way — then things will improve. There are a couple of problems with that approach.
I'll illustrate both problems by analogizing to my first (and, to date, only) century (100-mile bike ride), in which the course ran through the Sierra foothills (but it was not the California Death Ride, which would have been impossible for me). Suffice it to say that I finished, but that I wasn't in nearly the shape I should have been.
Now, to the problems.
First, X might not go away. Because the century course ran through the foothills, there were many twisty ascents, and the view around each curve was usually obstructed by evergreens, so you couldn't usually tell what was around the next turn, let alone how far it was to the summit. If I had a nickel for every time during that ride that I looked up in exhaustion and thought, "the summit has to be around the next curve" only to find yet another climbing turn in front of me, I would have been able to retire my student loan debt a few years early. What might not go away, or at least last far longer than you think you can stand in your practice? How about a lack of business, or perhaps some personal financial setbacks?
Second, even if the X is removed (or, better yet, overcome), that doesn't mean you have long to wait before you meet the next X. My relief at reaching each summit in the bike ride lasted just until I finished coasting back to the bottom, when it was time for the next climb. So, it's not necessarily going to be smooth sailing.
These thoughts are brought to mind by the fact that I finally replaced my computer and wireless internet card. That's one X out of the way . . . I no longer have to do a lot of work on my living room computer. And I cannot even being to convey how demoralizing that theft was. I really felt I was being kicked while I was down.
So, I'm wondering what my next X will be and when it will hit. Not in a sad sack, "poor me" sort of way, but in a "I want to be prepared" sort of way.
Whatever it is, it's nothing that more business can't help.