Say what you will about Big Law (and I say plenty of unflattering things about them), at least when they hire a junior lawyer, they give them a generous salary and benefits, and more often than not, appropriate training and mentoring.
Tag: lawyers
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.”
~ Melody Beattie.
An old man takes his seat on an airplane. The attendant offers him a blanket and a pillow, and helps him settle in. She asks, “are you comfortable?” The old man replies, “I make a living.”
After we earn enough to cover our basis needs, how much more it takes to be comfortable depends on our values. Some people need money for luxury cars, jewelry, big houses in fancy neighbourhoods, and private schools. Others do not.
“Prepare the clone army!”
~ Dr. Evil
Back before today’s young lawyers were born, law firms and new lawyers had an unwritten social contract.
Firms were prepared not to make much money on newcomers. They made an investment to mentor, supervise, and train them. If the firm was lucky, it could cover its costs in the first year, and start making a profit in subsequent years. The new lawyers knew that they would have to put in some time before they could earn the big bucks, but if they hung in, a partnership would be offered within a reasonable time frame.
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Might Means Right
By Maureen T. McKay and Murray Gottheil
Recent events in Venezuela have us thinking about the expression, “might means right,” and what it means for our legal systems.
Career Announcement – Chat GPT is pleased to announce that Murray Gottheil has finally achieved his life-long ambition to be a partner in Big Law!
I was bored this morning so I entered the following prompt into Chat GPT: “Create a biography for Murray Gottheil Canadian lawyer.”
This is what it told me:
I am going to tell you a story that was told to me by a law firm partner who cannot risk telling it herself.
Somewhere in the world of Common Law, a rainmaker partner in a huge firm did dreadful things and was pushed out. A scandal ensued. The details were sketchy. Among those trying to figure out exactly what happened were hundreds of the partners of the now disgraced lawyer.
One of my favourite mentees made the long drive to the country for lunch with Maureen and me the other day. I will call her Sara. We enjoyed the lunch, and Sara’s company was delightful, as always.
“Being good is easy — What is difficult is being just.” ~ Victor Hugo
The worst business succession plans that I have ever seen were created by good people who were trying to treat their children equally.
Unfortunately, “equal” does not necessarily mean “fair.”
The good folks at Law 360 have produced their annual survey of what lawyers think about their profession.
Here is the part that I don’t get.
60% of Associates (and 44%) of partners say that they either feel stressed most of the time or all of the time.
At the same time, 63% report being satisfied, or very satisfied, with their jobs.
So, let me get this straight. Lawyers are generally happy with their jobs, while being stressed most or all of the time.
I am reminded of the famous quote from The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Maybe I am an outlier, but I am usually happiest when I am not stressed about things like getting my work done on time, meeting billable hour requirements, or getting sued. But that’s just me.
It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. ~ Edmund Burke
Today I would like to weave together two disparate stories to make my point.