MARCH 2000
Balancing the Practice of Law and the Practice of Life
by Laura Caldwell
If you've recently entered the practice of law, or even if you've been at it for a few years, you may be wondering whether your chosen career can be manageable and enjoyable. Luckily, the answer is yes. You can still have a great love life, a satisfying social calendar, and a fulfilling family life. You can travel, pursue other interests, and still perform well at your job. A few suggestions to put you on that path follow.
- Prioritize. We've all heard certain words of wisdom about prioritization time and again: Prioritize your work each morning, set out to finish it and put the rest away for the next day. Good advice, but consider prioritizing not only your daily workload, but what is important in your life, what you are willing to do for a job in the law and the hours you are willing to work. If, for example, your priority is quality of life rather than the financial bottom line, realize that your job that pays phenomenally but requires you to bill 2,200 hours is probably not your road to satisfaction. A smaller firm that requires less may be a better option, even if you have to take a cut in pay. On the other hand, if money is your priority because it funds your trips to the Orient and the antiques that fill your house, then by all means shoot for a position that will put the most in your pocket. In either situation, you are giving something up, but you are realizing your priority and taking strides toward it.
- Get a Good Attitude. If you don't already have a good attitude about work in the law, try to get one. No one else, not the partner you work for or the judge who just berated you, controls your life or how you feel about it. A resigned or sullen attitude about working for a living and being a lawyer can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you're determined to hate it, you will. If you can't get a healthy attitude no matter how hard you try, that may be a signal that your priorities are not being fulfilled.
- Check Out Other Areas of the Law. At least once, experience an area of the law different from the one in which you practice. If you're in corporate law, do some pro bono work for a public defender's office or an entertainment legal clinic that represents artists and bands. You'll think you don't have time, but most places will accept just a few hours a month. Not only will you learn, but you may just find you should be practicing in another area.
- Pursue Outside Interests. It's easy to get swept up in late hours, bar association cocktail parties and weekend legal seminars while the activities you used to revel in slip by the wayside. Don't let this happen. If you find you now need to actually schedule time with your kids and spouse or a tennis game with a buddy, that's perfectly legitimate. Sometimes you'll need to work just as hard at keeping your outside interests and your relationships strong as you will to climb the legal ladder. In other words, work hard to play hard.
Laura Caldwell is a partner in the Chicago law firm of Worker & Power. This article is adapted from the author's presentation to law students sponsored by The Womens Bar Association of Illinois.
 
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