Vol. 28, No. 3 #7 (June 2005). Stop the World - I Want to Get Off! Practicing Law in the 21st Century.

• Author: By Sharon D. Nelson

Wyoming Bar Journal

2005.

Vol. 28, No. 3 #7 (June 2005).

Stop the World - I Want to Get Off! Practicing Law in the 21st Century

WYOMING LAWYERJune 2005/Vol. XXVIII, No. 3Stop the World - I Want to Get Off! Practicing Law in the 21st CenturyBy Sharon D. Nelson

It spins ever faster, does it not? Much like the infamous merry-go-round in Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" and with the same sense of mania and frenzy. To bastardize one of Tolstoy's famous lines, each of us is unhappily juggling balls in our own way. It really doesn't matter what the balls consist of - we all have too many of them in the air and keeping them all up there (well, perhaps dropping as few as possible) is a daunting and daily exercise.

What we do for a living is intense. Our stakes are high and the consequences of our errors profound. According to a John Hopkins study, lawyers are considerably more affected by drug and alcohol problems than the public at large - and three and a half times more likely to suffer from depression. The statistics themselves are depressing!

Even when we think we're coping, most of us admit to feeling stressed and torn between too many responsibilities. Wherever there are lawyers gathered, they bemoan their hectic schedules and the unrelentingly furious pace of their lives. Every time you hear someone talk about "quality of life" issues, do you want to put your fist through a pane of glass? Do you think to yourself, It would be nice to simply have a life, never mind its quality?

Recently, I spoke to a number of members of our bar's Young Lawyer Section. Family obligations and long hours at the office conspire against them to deprive them of time to engage in social activities with their colleagues and some of the philanthropic activities that many of them took part in regularly until they graduated from law school, went to work and had families. Several of them asked, "How do you balance everything?" as though I might have some sage answer. Hah!

Would that there were a canned answer and a cure for what troubles them. Unfortunately, this is real life, not Dr. Phil. But their question stayed with me all the same, and I reflected on what the merciless juggernaut of life had taught me over the years. For what it is worth (two cents might be overpayment), here are some hard-won lessons:

1. You'll never do anything more important or rewarding than raising kids. It's the hardest, best job there...