I and some of my lawyer friends have noticed something recently: apathy in the practice. The general feeling that a lot of our colleagues (in particular the younger ones) just don’t give a shit about the art and practice of law anymore.

            For example, when I was a baby litigator in the DA’s office, it was very common for my fellow and sister baby DA’s to sneak away from our duties in District Court to watch the more senior and learned DA’s  in the office in trial or in an important hearing. We would actually be jealous of who was able to get away in order to observe these, what we thought, interesting and exciting presentations in Superior Court. I distinctly remember we each salivated at the opportunity to see things we hadn’t seen before and learn things we had not known before. We were eager to increase the span of our legal knowledge and experience. However, I now rarely see those younger faces behind me when I am trying a murder case. If I am observing a colleague in court, I am often the only other lawyer in there watching. No row of young faces sitting shoulder to shoulder keenly leaning forward to hear counsel arguments. Even on Webex, I find that the more younger attorney’s aren’t just lingering after their case is called just to see what the Court is up to. Where did our excitement go? Maybe I am not looking in the right place.

             However, I am not the only other attorney who has made this observation. It is hard not to sound like an old fart, but I fear that our younger generation attorneys aren’t all that enthusiastic about the practice. It’s like they missed the class where you learn that not everything that a lawyer needs to know can be learned in a code book. It’s a practice. Which means we have to actually DO in order to get better at it. And that will also entail WATCHING in preparation for doing. Am I wrong? What can we do to change this? The idea that the historic practice of law requires a desire to experience it in all its forms. That means we have to have patience and sit and watch, listen and admit to ourselves all that we don’t know in order to accept that which we will come to know if we let it. I never thought that this attribute would be one that was relegated to the “old” of the tribe. I don’t feel old, but apparently I am since this practice is not being implemented by the younger folk. I find myself wanting to inquire and actually “learn” from our younger colleagues why this is. Why doesn’t it occur to them the need to watch the practice in order to better learn it? But, how do I do this without offense?

            And maybe it is not only relegated to the younger faces in the legal crowd. I have been in court recently with opposing counsel who, I believe, was of my generation just phoning it in. Not really caring about the procedural issues at hand and just winging it with the Court. What in the hell is this all about? Or maybe I am just too uppity and rigid. Regardless, something is going on with us and it is not going unnoticed. Surfing the web for information on this topic, I came across a Reddit post where an attorney wrote about feelings of apathy and being overwhelmed. Perhaps the sheer stress of our profession can beat the enthusiasm and liveliness out of us. Sometimes it feels there are only a few of us that still are in it to help clients, do the right thing and make an honest living.

            Perhaps the apathy I and my colleagues are witnessing is the cold hard reality that our profession and those for whom it attracts has changed markedly. The reasons why people become attorneys have changed drastically over the last fifty years. Such that, perhaps, our profession has been downgraded to a job that one could take or leave. We are not working a job, we are practicing in a profession. However, that message may not be extolled to our new inductees. What have you seen in your practice? I, unlike most it seems, am interested and engaged to know.

*Image Credit: 88264969 © creativecommonsstockphotos | Dreamstime.com