This week, I had a lot of court unexpectedly. Shocker. I am a litigation attorney. However, if you are a litigator out there, like me, there are times that we need to be at our office to meet clients, run our offices, and you know…actually do the work of being a trial lawyer. But, there are those times where it seems you are always walking through the courthouse metal detectors on your way to some hearing or appearance before the court. This week, I was unexpectedly in that space.

            One of those days I was in court, during a break from my hearing, I saw that a colleague was waiting for their case to be called after mine. I decided to take a minute to talk to this colleague during our break. When I came up to that colleague, this colleague gave me the sweetest and most endearing compliment regarding my performance in court for my client. It was totally unexpected and very much welcomed. Because, of course, I didn’t realize how I was appearing to others. I was just focused on doing my job and accomplishing what I felt I needed to accomplish for the good of my client.

            As I was thinking of what to write for this week’s post, I thought about that experience. Unbeknownst to me, I was in my element. This colleague clearly saw it and alerted me to this fact. When I am in court, that is where I focus and weirdly become very comfortable in what I am doing as an attorney, even if it is absolutely difficult. I started to wonder where and when other attorneys were in their element? What are the parts of their work where some attorneys slip into this type of comfort level and maneuver, what may seem like, effortlessly through the difficult task of lawyering? I think when we as attorneys get to those places where we are in our element, even though the tasks at hand are arduous and difficult, the comfort level of being in one’s own element can contribute to the joy we can experience in our work. The more joy we can find in our work, the longer I believe that we will stay in the practice with a higher quality of practicing life. We should seek and aspire to work on as many matters and cases where we can be in our element and get that comfort and joy of practicing feeling. Life is too short…kind of like this week’s post. Happy Lawyering!