{"id":4056,"date":"2005-09-04T01:13:26","date_gmt":"2005-09-04T05:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/09\/04\/the-road-to-l-is-paved-with-i"},"modified":"2011-09-03T11:01:34","modified_gmt":"2011-09-03T15:01:34","slug":"the-road-to-l-is-paved-with-inattention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/09\/04\/the-road-to-l-is-paved-with-inattention\/","title":{"rendered":"the road to “L” is paved with inattention"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
Memo<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
from:\u00a0 Prof. Yabut<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
to:\u00a0 All Law Students<\/span><\/div>\n
re: Assess This!!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
.
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\"prof What the L <\/em>are you waiting for?\u00a0 Two weeks ago, I poured my heart out at\u00a0this <\/span><\/div>\n
website, advising each 1L to immediately begin the process of self-assessment, <\/span><\/div>\n
which\u00a0is absolutely necessary to find out whether a legal career is right for\u00a0him <\/span><\/div>\n
or her.\u00a0 See <\/span>1L of a decision<\/em><\/span><\/a>,<\/span> which sets out the need for self-assessment and <\/span><\/div>\n
points to many good places to start.\u00a0 \u00a0Having been around this planet (and the <\/span><\/div>\n
young of our species) quite a while, I can confidently say that virtually none of them has taken that advice.<\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
Nevertheless, I am going to increase the likelihood and scope of failure by preaching <\/span><\/div>\n
tonight to all law students — 1-, 2- & 3Ls — with the same message:\u00a0 “only a silly <\/span><\/div>\n
a$$ doesn’t self<\/span>-assess.”\u00a0 Frankly, there are enough lost, unhappy\u00a0souls practicing law <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
as it is, without you — yes, you!<\/em> — adding to the numbers by blindly careening toward <\/span><\/div>\n
a painful, depressing legal career.\u00a0\u00a0 But, don’t just take my word for it. <\/span><\/div>\n
\"donkey\" Donkey O.T.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
The folks at New York Law School have obviously hung out with lots of law students. <\/span><\/div>\n
On the <\/span>NYLS Career Planning page<\/span><\/a>, they note, “Many law students and graduates spend <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
more time planning a one-week vacation than they spend planning a career that will last <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
over 30 years.”<\/em> Why is that important?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
“The time you take between now and graduation to plan your career will pay <\/span><\/div>\n
off later with job satisfaction. Your job search will be most effective if you first <\/span><\/div>\n
identify your interests and career goals and determine what you need to do or <\/span><\/div>\n
learn to reach these goals. Students who fail to take the time to set the ground-<\/span><\/div>\n
work for their job searches often end up without the focus they need to find and <\/span><\/div>\n
obtain satisfying work. Take the time now to start planning for your career to <\/span><\/div>\n
ensure that it is a satisfying one.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Similarly, Angelique Electra<\/a>,\u00a0a lawyer who created the [apparently no longer online] JurisDoctor Profile Assessment\u00a0<\/span>has diplomatically pointed out:<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
[H]ow many people out of every hundred considering law school or a <\/span><\/div>\n
law career undergo a self-assessment program to determine “why” they\u2019re <\/span><\/div>\n
considering it and whether it is appropriate to their long-term well-being to <\/span><\/div>\n
do it?\u00a0 You can probably surmise the answer is next to “none.” <\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The folks at JurisDoctor Profiles go on to explain:<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/em><\/strong>For the new graduate willing to chip away at old maxims and consider career <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
alternatives, s\/he must first be willing to create the mental and emotional “space” <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
for an alternative way of being — a new view or perspective of life and “life-lihood.” <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
First, you must<\/span> make the quiet time for self-assessment, introspection and discovery. <\/span><\/div>\n
Then you must engage inner courage to make honest assessments and truly accept <\/span><\/div>\n
“as truth” what is uncovered or created through that process.\u00a0 . . .<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
For the law student or new law graduate, or lawyer in the first training stage of career <\/span><\/div>\n
development, cracking the egg before you are “cooked” means that you have a better <\/span><\/div>\n
shot at directing yourself into an arena, environment, or area of the law that is most <\/span><\/div>\n
congruent with who you are and want to be. It provides baseline criteria for those initial <\/span><\/div>\n
career decisions \u2013 which decisions profoundly affect the course and quality of your career <\/span><\/div>\n
life.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Look, I’m not trying to sell you anything — and won’t make one cent if you follow up on this little <\/span><\/div>\n
diatribe.\u00a0 The reality is that there really are<\/em> a lot of satisfied lawyers.\u00a0 However, they got there <\/span><\/div>\n
because their jobs fit who they are as individuals.\u00a0 You can’t have career satisfaction without <\/span><\/div>\n
personal satisfaction. As <\/span>Lisa Abrams<\/span><\/a>, Esq., (author of <\/span>The Official Guide to Legal Specialties<\/span><\/em><\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
points out in<\/span> <\/span>Encouraging Law Students to Pursue Career Satisfaction<\/a> (Dec. 2002 NALP Bulletin<\/em>):<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
What do satisfied lawyers have in common? <\/span>I found that this group of satisfied lawyers <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
had three things in common:<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
1. They have a sincere interest or passion for the subject matter <\/strong>on which they work. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
2. They enjoy the daily rhythms of their job. <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
3. Their work appeals to the core of their personality <\/strong>\u2014their work is aligned with <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
their values and allows them to work with their strongest skills.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Abrams emphasizes a key point: “Students see job satisfaction as a luxury rather than as an ingredient necessary to career success. During and after my programs, students have identified numerous concerns related to job satisfaction.\u00a0 Yet, interestingly, students see their questions <\/span>as separate from the issue of finding satisfying work. It\u2019s as if they see satisfaction as a luxury <\/span>rather <\/span>than as a necessary ingredient to finding success in a legal job.”\u00a0 She asks: <\/span><\/div>\n
\n
What can law schools do to help students seek satisfaction?<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
The most important thing we can do for law students is convince them that <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
considering satisfaction isn\u2019t a luxury but a necessity. Finding a job in which <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
you have a degree of satisfaction sets you on the road to success. Says Virginia <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
Vermillion, Assistant Dean for Career Services at the University of Illinois College <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
of Law, \u201cThe closer your first job to your long-term goal, the more likely you are <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
to be happy. The happier you are, the more likely you are to succeed. There\u2019s a <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
cumulative effect of success.\u201d<\/span> <\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\"boy <\/span><\/div>\n
The best way to be on the road toward a legal career that is in sync with your passions, values <\/span><\/div>\n
and rhythms is to know who you are<\/em>.\u00a0 Honestly,\u00a0almost none of us can do that without making a <\/span><\/div>\n
real <\/span>commitment of time and energy in the process of self-assessment.\u00a0 In <\/span>1L of a decision<\/span><\/a>, you <\/span><\/div>\n
will <\/span>find some free, online resources that can help greatly in that assessment. <\/span><\/div>\n
.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
You might also check out Deborah Arron’s website<\/a> to see which of the “7 lawyer types” described in\u00a0the JurisDoctor Profiles Assessment seems to best describe you and which career options best fit each type.<\/span><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

What the L are you doing this weekend that’s more important than a personal self-assessment?<\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
Do I have to come over and kick-start your assessment personally?<\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
\"noYabutsSN\"<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
windowless classroom<\/span><\/div>\n
the blank look<\/span><\/div>\n
same as last term<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
evening class<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
a toddler comes in<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
with her mother<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
fund drive<\/span><\/div>\n
the ivy covered building<\/span><\/div>\n
has a new name<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n
winter evening<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
a cafeteria tray <\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
at the end of the slope<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\"wrong<\/span><\/div>\n
around and around<\/span><\/div>\n
learning the names<\/span><\/div>\n
of one way streets<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Yu Chang<\/strong><\/span><\/a>from <\/span>Upstate Dim Sum<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“winter evening” (2003\/I); <\/span>“windowless classroom” (2002\/I) <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“fund drive” & “evening class”\u00a0 (2002\/II) <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“around and around”\u00a0 (2001\/II)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memo from:\u00a0 Prof. Yabut to:\u00a0 All Law Students re: Assess This!! . What the L are you waiting for?\u00a0 Two weeks ago, I poured my heart out at\u00a0this website, advising each 1L to immediately begin the process of self-assessment, which\u00a0is absolutely necessary to find out whether a legal career is right for\u00a0him or her.\u00a0 See […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3513],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lawyer-news-or-ethics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-13q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4056"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11880,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4056\/revisions\/11880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}