Recently I was chatting on the phone with a friend of mine from high school and the conversation landed on the challenges a mutual friend of ours who was a partner at the local office of a global law firm was experiencing. Our friend was stressed out beyond belief; constantly traveling for trials and last time I talked with her she mentioned that she almost never saw her husband. We went back and forth sharing observations about other lawyers we each knew and suddenly my friend paused and remarked, “You know what Idara? You’re the only lawyer I know who’s not hating her life.” I was taken aback by her statement; I didn’t immediately know how to reply. Fortunately, she didn’t notice the brief silence on my end and the conversation veered back to talking about other things, but I couldn’t get her words out of my mind. While I am grateful for the life I currently live and enjoy in many respects, I didn’t think it was particularly remarkable until my friend’s words got me to thinking about how my own lawyer life had unfolded (and is still unfolding), and distilling some lessons learned to pass along to my clients who are engaged in their own inner reflection and evaluation of their own. The following components stand out to date:
