12 Steps Toward Fulfillment in the Practice of Law (Step 2)

Last week, we began with Judge Carl Horn’s Step 1, Face the Facts. Today, we look at Step 2 – Establish Clear Priorities.

Whether single or married, and, if married with children, whether one or two of the parents work outside the home, there is a widespread sense today that there is never enough time. That is precisely why Judge Horn says that it is crucial to establish clear priorities. As someone once quipped, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” We must know at least where we want to go with our professional and personal lives and prioritize our time accordingly.

To avoid regret later in life, we must realize now that the time we spend with our children will be remembered as precious and as far more valuable than money or any temporary career achievement we may have to forego. Judge Horn suggests making time with your family a top priority and to be sure your daily and weekly schedules reflect it. This does not mean that lawyers, with or without children, should not be prepared to work very hard. It simply means that if we aim to live balanced lives, lines must be drawn beyond which we are not willing to go, at least not on a regular basis.

Judge Horn reminds us that making enough money should be a priority. However, the proper priority in a balanced life, that should be given to making enough money, must not become a license for workaholism or what one commentator called a “money-centered world view.” Money is a means to an end. If balance and happiness are among our life goals, we must be vigilant not to allow money to become an end in itself.

We must learn that if we are to realize professional fulfillment, we must establish and unequivocally live by clear priorities.

Step 2 – Establish Clear Priorities.

Join us next week for Step 3 – Develop and Practice Good Time Management.

12 Steps Toward Fulfillment in the Practice of Law (Step 1)

We know lawyers are especially vulnerable to depression and substance abuse disorders. So how do lawyers avoid those problems and achieve a balanced life and fulfillment in the practice of law? In 2003, the ABA published a book, Lawyer Life – Finding a Life and a Higher Calling in the Practice of Law, written by the Honorable Carl Horn, III, a former U. S. Magistrate Judge in North Carolina, now in private practice in Charlotte, North Carolina. After examining the profession and its various problems, Judge Horn set forth “12 Steps Toward Fulfillment in the Practice of Law,” which is based on choices that an individual lawyer can make to enhance professional fulfillment. For the next twelve weeks, we will discuss each step in the 12 Steps offered by Judge Horn.

Step 1 – Face the Facts

Every 12 Step program begins with an exhortation to those in the targeted group to acknowledge their need. In the current context, perhaps one would say, “I’m a lawyer who went to law school, or began practice with high ideals, intentions to live a balanced life, and all that, but now …” By honestly and openly asking the right questions, we increase our chances, or take the first step, toward a balanced, fulfilling professional life. Are we emotionally healthy? Are we satisfied with the key relationships in our lives? When we look back on these years, will we be pleased with our priorities as evidenced by how we actually spent our time, or will we regret not having spent more time with our family and close friends? In short, do we feel good about where we are professionally and personally, and where our life appears to be going?

Let honesty be the rule here. We must face these facts on a regular basis if our lives are to remain balanced and on course. Lawyers who do not ask these questions, who fail to engage in periodic introspection, are more likely to experience what has been described as “the lingering feeling of emptiness despite material success.”

Step 1 – Face the facts.

Join us next week for Step 2 – Establish Clear Priorities.