Let’s show a little love for lawyers this month
February prompts us to express our appreciation and love for those around us, and this month is a great time to show our love for lawyers and our chosen field.
Our profession tends to get a bad rap, but lawyers often have unique opportunities for creating positive community impact. In our experience with the independent lawyers who choose our collaborative office spaces, that impact might even grow when solo attorneys come together.
How lawyers make a positive impact
Think back to the reasons you chose law as a career path. Your list might have included one or more of these:
- The chance to use analytical and negotiation skills
- A love for research and lifelong learning
- The desire to help people
- An opportunity to earn a comfortable salary
- Community influence and the ability to work closely with community leaders
- A belief in the rule of law and the importance of justice
What else would you add to that list? For many lawyers, impact leads the reasons for pursuing and continuing in the field of law. As PracticePanther highlights:
“…the field of law provides a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on society by upholding justice and advocating for those in need.
Lawyers have the power to shape laws, defend the innocent, and ensure the fair resolution of disputes. Furthermore, the legal profession is intellectually stimulating, requiring critical thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to craft persuasive arguments. It offers a dynamic and challenging work environment where no two cases are alike.”
To further their community reach, many lawyers do pro bono work for organizations effecting change and people in need. Interesting and important work can help fuel motivation and job satisfaction for many lawyers.
How to love your work
If you have hit a rough patch in your career, or if you have experienced burnout, you may miss the passion that initially brought you to the field of law.
So, how can you learn to love your work again? Here are a few places to start:
- Leave Big Law. The rigid structure of some Big Law firms can lead to burnout. Consider moving to a smaller firm or launching your own practice.
- Connect with new people. Independent lawyers especially can benefit from working alongside other lawyers and professionals who can help re-energize their practice.
- Choose a new practice area. If a high-pressure practice area has you worn out, try something that requires fewer hours or less adrenaline.
This reddit thread offers some illuminating insights from lawyers who actually like their work. Several solo lawyers touted flexibility and autonomy as huge drivers of their newfound career happiness. Others connected with meaningful practice areas aligned more closely with their personal values.
One reddit poster summed it up nicely:
“I have the flexibility to close the office early, leave for doctor’s appointments in the middle of the day, and get to know clients on a personal level.
I’m in real estate law so it’s also rewarding to be working on matters and bring people together instead of tear them apart like other areas of law do.”
Rewarding work AND work-life balance: who doesn’t want that?
The importance of work-life balance
Speaking of work-life balance, independent law practice can help provide the right mix of flexibility and autonomy to achieve it.
If you do opt for independent practice, make sure to show yourself a little love by prioritizing personal time as much as work time. The goal should not be perfectly equal allocation of time, but seeking personal-work balance should give you:
- A sense of purpose outside of work
- Time to refresh and restore between big cases
- The ability to focus while at work and the ability to let go when it’s time to clock out
- Alignment between your personal values and law firm culture (as an independent practitioner, you get to create your culture)
- Renewed passion for work that interests you and enough down time to avoid burnout
Your clients and the people in your personal life will feel the love as you create a better sense of balance in your life. You will show up as a better lawyer, partner, parent, relative and friend when you make self care and time off an intentional priority. Oh, and you will feel so much better as a human.
Ready to build community alongside fellow lawyers who feel passionate about positive law firm culture? Reach out to us to learn more about our shared office communities for lawyers in Denver and Las Vegas.
