Keeping the Journey in Perspective

• Pages: 30-31
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Joseph P. Beckman
• Subject Matter: Civil Law

Published in Litigation News Volume 48, Number 4, Summer 2 023. © 2023 by the Amer ican Bar Association . Reproduced with pe rmission. All rights re served. This info rmation or any porti on thereof may not be c opied or disseminated in an y

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MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS

By Joseph P. Beckman, Litigation News Ass ociate Ed itor

Keeping the Journey in Perspective

his June marked a year of my “grand” experi-

ment. This began with a return to living in the

mountains after 22 years back in the Midwest. My

practice is largely the same, but the role includes an

opportunity to pay forward the wonderful training

I received last century at the beginning of what has proved to

be an interesting and occasionally challenging career to date.

As detailed in my last column, the year had “mountain top

moments” (literally and guratively), all worth celebrating. It also

included a handful of curveballs that might have driven a younger

version of me to places where the shortcut to stress relief would

have been unhealthy coping mechanisms. These could range from

reprehensible eating habits, to abandoning exercise, to fullling

too much of my caloric intake via cold malt beverages.

As humans, are we imperfect beings? Of course. We law-

yers sometimes, whether through ego, force of will, or simple

competitiveness, attempt to deny that imperfection. In the

process of keeping our outward armor shiny, we sometimes

permit the engine under the hood to “run hot,” risking that the

whole engine will lock up.

An Early Lesson i n Humanit y

My rst year in practice was largely split between two massive

cases. Both were over $20 million at issue. In both, I was little

more than an overpaid “document jockey.” The only thing

more unremarkable than these disputes between corporate

giants was probably the impact of my two years of legal work

on them. What was remarkable, however, were some life les-

sons and perspective I gained in the process.

On the one case, my supervisor was the last attorney at the

rm to have made full partner on the “seven-year track.” The

two of us could not have been more different in background

or outlook. Andrea came from a prominent East Coast fam-

ily, and her marriage was announced in the New York Times

society pages. She loved art and culture and had no interest

in sports. Her husband was the chief operating ofcer of a

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