idealawg

5 steps to finding your interests: Become a detective looking for the fuel in your career

What is one essential ingredient in an exciting, energizing, engrossing legal career? Or in any satisfying career? You have to be engaged in something that really grabs your interest, that really catches your attention—everyday. If you are toiling away at some job that does not match your interests, I am betting you will not be happy. In evaluating your career, knowing your strengths (aptitudes) is important as is knowing your values. But so is discovering your interests. Here's a five-step process for going on the interests hunt. The steps are adapted from Don't Waste Your Talent: The 8 Critical Steps to Discovering What You Do Best.

1) Start an Interest File.

Get a file folder or box and put it someplace where you will see it. Use your file to collect notes about anything that gets your attention: articles, pictures, or even random thoughts about what really interests you in life. You don't have to be choosy here. You are not wedded to anything you put in this file; the more you play with it, the better. What looks like fun? What would you like to find out more about? What has always fascinated you?

2) Keep Your File for at Least Three Weeks.

Longer is better. Don't look in it. Just keep throwing stuff in. If a picture catches your attention, toss it in. If

That lawyer happiness thing again: Now being discussed at WSJ Law Blog

The comments to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog post What Holds Unhappy Lawyers Back From Leaving? are almost as interesting as the post itself. The post features Monica Parker of Leaving the Law who has a book coming out next month entitled The Unhappy Lawyer: A Roadmap to Finding Meaningful Work Outside of the Law. From the post:

Unhappiness in the law has, unfortunately, become a distinct sub-genre of LB coverage. To such an extent, in fact, that the storyline of lawyer wretchedness has become somewhat of a cliché: Wayward liberal-arts student, law school, indebtedness, dashed career hopes, inertia, misery.

But what happens next? Is there a way out? Monica Parker ... thinks unhappy lawyers can be coached out of law, and back to happiness. After stints as a producer at Spike Lee’s film company and a manager at a Winn-Dixie grocery store, Parker, a Harvard grad, returned to Cambridge for law school. “‘I should have a larger income, I should have something with more prestige and status,’” she thought to herself.

“Being the true law school type, I decided on law school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she told the Law Blog in a recent interview. “You hear it opens doors.”

Click for the rest. From another post (also featuring Parker) entitled Escaping the legal profession is becoming its own business (National Association of Freelance Legal Professionals blog):

How do you know that dissatisfaction with the legal profession has reached an all-time high? When helping lawyers leave the profession becomes its own cottage industry.

A cottage industry! Let me know of other people doing this kind of work and I will post them here.

Here's a directory of legal career consultants (in which I am listed). Also:

• Stephanie Kane*
• Hindi Greenberg
• Leslie Hilton*
• Anne Angerman*

Yes, when I actually think about it, law-leaving consultants do make up an industry. Who else should be on this list?

• Ellen Ostrow wrote me to be included on this list (her Web site says she works with women lawyers)

*Certified to use The Highlands Ability Battery

New blog looks at life after law

JDSnub Blog is written by Taisha Rucker, "a writer trapped inside a lawyer's life." Rucker writes:

I want to say that this blog is not about bashing the legal field. It is not about changing the way lawyers do business. It is about sharing the experiences and stories of lawyers who have successfully transitioned into other careers. I am reaching out to former lawyers who have inspired me and want to hear from others who want to share their stories as well.

If you or anyone you know is a lawyer turned _______ (you fill in the blank) who would like to share their wisdom, please send them my way. The Survey "Lawyers in Transition" is located on the right. In addition, I'll share my wisdom, learned the hard way of course, as I go through the process of becoming a writer/entrepreneur.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Taisha.

Hat tip to Marci Alboher. Read her article "Why Lawyers Leave" (New York Times).

The legal profession is changing, but how?

High salaries and prestige, training and loyalty, alternatives to traditional law firms, and generational differences are just a few of the topics addressed in  "Junior Associate Woes - The State of the Legal Profession, Part 2" (FindLaw), an article reporting on a symposium held last month at Stanford Law. Although I urge you the read the article in its entirety, below are a few excerpts I found most provocative of thought.

"Young lawyers want to work at home in their pajamas, looking at their fish tanks and listening to their iPods," said Gordon Davidson, Partner and Chairman, Fenwick & West LLP. Although his statement is tongue-in-cheek, it captures the "play ethic" embodied in younger generations.
. . .
According to some lawyers who post on FindLaw's Greedy Associates, the current state of the profession is so unfulfilling that there is a distinct career path for attorneys, from "BigLaw through to non-legal employment." Essentially, the professional life of an attorney is a progression from money to self-fulfillment.

. . ."The law firm that cracks the lifestyle

From corporate lawyer to sculptor: Working more hours and having more fun

Nathan Sawaya went from working 80 hours a week as a lawyer to working more hours as The Brick Artist. He says:

Like so many small businesses, what started out as a hobby became more and more of a full time job.  When I got so many hits on my website on one day that it crashed, I realized it was a viable business.  It was time to leave the law and become a full time artist.

As you may know, New York corporate attorneys work well over 80 hours per week.  These days, I?m working way more hours, but having much more fun.

Finding my true passion was key for me in finding success and happiness.  When you know you have found your one true passion, it will be the driving force in all aspects of your life.  It will dictate where you live, who your friends are, what you wear, everything.  Even who you date.

Read more here at The Big Idea blog.

Want to celebrate the unique past, present and future of your life, your pet's life, your firm's life? An intriguing new Web site

A brand new Web site has arrived on the Internet. Celebrations of Life is very ambitious with its many ventures, all focused on celebrating lives and legacies. Those legacies upon which COL focuses are not only of people, but also pets and businesses. COL's net sweeps deep and wide. Their goals seems laudable.

What are those goals? Learning from our past, fully living our present, and making a difference in our future.

From the Web site PR page, here's an overview of all their services and activities

Celebrations of Life helps individuals, families and businesses celebrate the extraordinary uniqueness of their lives. Specially trained professionals help clients remember, honor, and share their life stories and values; make purposeful life and career transitions; and leave a meaningful legacy for their loved ones and communities. Products include: life story memoirs, pet remembrance stories, ethical wills, next chapter transitions, meaningful family legacies, and business visions, values and histories. The company also provides flexible, engaging careers for people age 50+ called LifeSAGErs™.

I wish them well and am optimistic about their potential since one of the partners is my friend Dr. Barry Baines, the guru of ethical wills.

Lifestyle issues in a sister profession related to lawyer quality of life: What's up or down, Doc?

Does improving a physician's quality of life enhance patient care? The majority of those interviewed in this article from Medscape say yes. As I read the article, I kept wondering if the questions presented apply to the legal profession, too. I think they do. From "Improve Physician Quality of Life to Enhance Patient Care":

Doctors are under too much pressure, experts warn, and this is having a negative affect on patients. Physicians who are overworked, overburdened, and generally stressed out are less available to patients and not as effective. Disregard the basic needs of healthcare professionals and patients are soon neglected too.

Do overworked lawyers equal underserved clients?

A recent blog post on the medical profession (Brain Blogger) looks at both the doctor quality-of-life question, and also at the shortage of physicians in the US. Is the shortage because of the increase of women physicians and their working fewer hours, or because of a generation that wants a different kind of life?

Time are changing and the next generation of physicians are not going to stay up all night and take call at any hour of the day to maintain the physician-patient relationship.

Do female physicians work less than their

New edition of THE COMPLETE LAWYER now online: The focus is "A sound mind in a sound body"

Another chock-full edition of The Complete Lawyer is up and awaiting your reading eyes and minds. Articles include one I wrote with Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz: "Exercise Mind Hygiene On A Daily Basis." Excerpt:

Do you ever have days when you describe your life as out of control?  Is your career going in an unintended direction? Do you feel as if you don’t have the time to assess whether your personal and professional trajectory is consistent or colliding with your goals and values, or if it’s aligned with your daily preferences? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, stop! For just a moment, step off the treadmill and join us on solid ground.

Do you want to take control? If so, you already have the necessary tool—your reflective mind. Unfortunately too few people use this life-correcting instrument. Instead, most lawyers operate in a reactive mode. Some are so governed by the billable hour that their brains are like metronomes, still keeping time even when they are away from work, preventing them from paying full attention to life outside the office. Others are so motivated by fear of not scaling the Mt. Everest heights of the legal profession, of not meeting elusive standards or not moving fast enough that they suffer self-induced workaholism. Sadly, some lawyers are so governed by their reactive brains that they become physically ill.

Other don't-miss articles:

• "The Inextricable Link Between The Body And Mind" by Richard Strozzi-Heckler
• "What Are Your Options?" by Anne Whitaker
• "Find Gratitude, Be A Better Lawyer" by Joe Shaub
• "Your Next Presentation Can Be A Hit If You Follow The Rules" by Mark Johnson
• "Do You Think Like A Solo Practitioner?" by Susan Cartier Liebel
• "Hourly Billing Is The Opiate Of The Profession" by Ronald J. Baker
• "Live in Your Head and Your Heart" by Susan Daicoff
• "Use The Elements Of Fiction To Tell The Client’s Story" by Karen J. Sneddon

And much, much more! This edition includes the second column written by my sisters in the ADR 'hood (Vickie Pynchon, Diane Levin, and Gini Nelson) and me; click to read the new installment of our "The Human Factor."

Something for everyone in The Complete Lawyer. Enjoy.

Note (added May 2, 2008, 12:04 PM Mountain): From one of my favorite blogs (because it is smart, sharp, short, sassy, and even once in a while silly), an announcement of this edition of TCL. Do NOT miss how What About Clients? heralded this The Complete Lawyer; what they did is good for your mind and your body. Get moving! Love that crew of bloggers—Holden Oliver, Brooke Powell, Tom Welshonce and Dan Hull. Kind of a hybrid of Miley Cyrus, Benjamin Franklin, Britney Spears, George Washington, Robin Williams, and Angelina Jolie. (Maybe throw in a teaspoon of the Dalai Lama and Starhawk, too.)

Law review article "Happy Law Students, Happy Lawyers" looks at control, connections, creative challenge, and comparisons

From the abstract of the article "Happy Law Students, Happy Lawyers" (Syracuse Law Review) by Nancy Levit and Douglas Linder:

This article draws on research into the science of happiness and asks a series of interrelated questions: Whether law schools can make law students happier? Whether making happier law students will translate into making them happier lawyers, and the accompanying question of whether making law students happier would create better lawyers? After covering the limitations of genetic determinants of happiness and happiness set-points, the article addresses those qualities that happiness research indicates are paramount in creating satisfaction: control, connections, creative challenge (or flow), and comparisons (preferably downward). Those qualities are then applied to legal education, while addressing the larger philosophical question, What if happiness were a goal of law schools?

The authors believe that making law students happier does translate, at least in part, into making them both happier and better lawyers because there is an interplay among happiness, collaboration and professionalism.  . . .

The article concludes with some concrete suggestions about maximizing student happiness, through addressing some of the career reasons why law students become unhappy lawyers.  . . .

Download "Happy Law Students, Happy Lawyers" here.

The champion of solos in Legal Times—Great article about solo Carolyn Elefant

A leading member of the legal blogosphere (not to mention the swami and guru of going it solo) is featured in an article today in Legal Times. The story begins:

There's no name on the door to Carolyn Elefant's K Street office in Washington, D.C. In the waiting room, a chubby man slouches on a black leather armchair, dozing. Elefant appears, smiling and gracious. She takes us on a slightly confusing circular journey through the halls before she finds the conference room where she left her coffee cup and briefcase.

The fact is this isn't really Elefant's base of operations anymore, although she occasionally uses the conference room to meet clients downtown. After her second daughter was born, Elefant started working out of her Bethesda, Md., home. But her business card still lists this K Street address, and her Web site describes her practice as "located in our nation's capital with easy access to the federal agencies and Congress."

Welcome to the pieced-together world of the solo practitioner. While some may shy away from its less-than-glamorous trappings, others are attracted to the idea of building a career unique to their own interests, time constraints and even whims, without the restrictions a larger firm might impose.

For the rest of the story of the sage of solos—and the article does tell part of Elefant's life story—read "Carolyn Elefant Wants to Be the Voice of Solo Lawyers." You also will learn many of the ways she has made life easier for other solos, including by writing her excellent new book Solo by Choice. Don't miss it. Nice, Carolyn!

Hat tip: Susan Cartier Liebel