Practice Management

Work-life balance is still a dumb-ass issue.

By Dan Hull

1. Practicing law is difficult and demanding--even for brilliant, diligent, ambitious and accomplished people. We've said this before. No big deal.

2. If you wanted just a job, you got into the wrong line of work.

3. Someone has done you a disservice if you believe employers exist to serve you--and to make you happy. We exist for customers and clients. We will train you--and work very hard to do that.

4. But "work-life" balance is "your" problem--not our firm's or mine. Each one of us creates our quality of life as we learn to be lawyers, develop standards, hold hard to those standards every day, and attend to the main event: clients.

5. If you are a job-hunting student or young lawyer expecting our firm to support a regime of work-life harmony, please try another shop. That is always your problem. We are happy and well-rounded people who work our asses off. However, people twice as smart and as hardworking as you paid huge dues to be able to call himself or herself a "lawyer". Please go away.

Color us Midwestern. It's privilege to work. It's a privilege to practice law.

(from an October 2006 post)

Full post as published by What About Clients? on July 18, 2009 (boomark / email).