Sometimes the hits keep coming when you are an attorney. What do I mean by hits? Let’s see, how can I write this? Ah…here we go: Conflicting court appearances, juggling appointment scheduling, complex case discovery, increasing client time demands, E-Courts hysteria, bullies on the bench, ass holes, and managing employees. Yes, we have a challenging profession. But sometimes we get too much in our heads about the day to day “hits” that sometimes we feel are hurled at us. When this happens, I think it is really important for us to take time to remember why we love (and we do) what we do.

                As I paused during this past month (hence no written posts in a while) to do just that, I remarked on the freedom I had in my profession. Despite all the demands and challenges, I have the freedom to interact with whomever I choose. I have the freedom to take any case for which I am qualified. I also have freedom of choice in terms of how I approach my cases. Utilizing the law and precedent as guideposts, we as attorneys have the ability to be free in the way we strategize and pave the path through our cases. This is very liberating and, when you allow it, induces serenity and calm in our work. One would think that such liberty would inspire anxiety because at the end of the day the responsibility lies with us. This can weigh on us. But the freedom of being the ultimate decider of how to defend or prosecute your case is very liberating and inspires continued confidence in our craft. And even though I sometimes feel like I am a slave to it, I do really like that I am in charge of my schedule. Private practitioners get the luxury of finagling their own schedules so they can fit in a latte here or there; or a good interview with a potential witness. Most American workers don’t own their own schedules. They are told where to be and when at all times during the working day. We have the ability to have some dominion over our schedules because we choose (at least most of us) what we want to do each day and who we want to see.

              Our professions allow us the freedom of curiosity and require verification. In that verification we get the adventure of investigation, exploration and discovery. Remember, I love puzzles. And this freedom is not a little thing. It is a big perk of our professions. As a litigator, there is always the element of surprise and encountering something new in our work. You can start your week thinking that nothing out of the ordinary should happen, but then all of a sudden, you are in the middle of a shit storm with twists and turns and ups and downs. Maybe, rather than feel the terror in such a scenario, we should embrace the excitement that may ensue? All I know is that the feelings of anxiety due to the roller coaster, which is sometimes our work, is for the birds. I would rather replace that with the thrill of not knowing what will come next and being excited to be in the position to find out.

              Yes, I am prattling on. But someone has to! We need to continue to remind ourselves WHY we do what we do and WHY we choose to stick around to do it some more. Our work should rarely be a shlog. Didn’t we all fight too hard and sacrifice too much for that to be the case? I hate the image of the harried and downtrodden lawyer leaving the courthouse almost dragging their weathered and beaten briefcase behind them. Yes, we will have those days (or sometimes weeks, let’s face it) where shit just does not go right. But despite that, my hope (and goal) is to try and stop and remember the joy in what I do and why I love doing it.

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