Lessons Learned: Reflections from a Retiring Lawyer

LESSONS LEARNED: REFLECTIONS FROM A RETIRING LAWYER By: John Eldridge

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

The concept of work-life balance was not part of the lexicon when I started practicing law in 1979. I got my first job as a lawyer with Robert W. Ritchie, and there was no work-life balance. We worked. In that office at that time, if you wanted “life,” you had your evenings after 6 or 7 pm and Saturday afternoons and Sundays. Otherwise, you were at your desk! To be at work was so much a part of my young lawyer experience that I thought the lawyer in the office who took off at 4 pm to watch his son play soccer would find that his action would have repercussions.

Don’t get me wrong! I applaud the younger lawyers of today who talk about and engage in “time off” to achieve at least a semblance of work-life balance. That is the way it ought to be! And to be fair to Mr. Ritchie, the expectation of working on Saturday mornings soon went away and was entirely gone by the time I began my “solo” practice in 1984, 5 years later. In working for myself, I began to control my time, and I started to see that some kind of work-life balance was possible.

I have had four emphases that have taken precedence in my life: my profession, my family, exercise, my faith, and the way my faith led me into service. I ·used to say: “If I exercise, I am stealing time from my work, or I am stealing time from my family, one or the other.” This was especially true when the kids were small when there was no time in the evenings except for the kids: have a little playtime, give baths, read stories and then to bed, chores that were chores, but provided such meaning in my life. My faith led me to be involved at church, do pro bono, and serve on the boards of non-profits. I did not consider these involvements legal work, just the right thing to do and provided a balance from legal work.

A work-life balance in the practice of law is much more possible once you have been lawyering for several years. You do not have to work so hard because you have done it all before, and you can accomplish more work in less time. As well, the tug of children is gone; they have graduated. Having children is the ultimate experience, and I would not trade those parenting years for anything... but I would not want to do it again!

Technology has done much to enable lawyers to achieve a balance between work and the rest of life. We know it now if we did not know it before the Pandemic: you can work from home. Working from home is especially suited for lawyers. So many lawyers have gone “paperless,” meaning all their files are on their computer. Likewise, research and writing is easily done from home. Dare I mention Zoom? Think of the hours saved by not having to go to meetings, using Zoom instead. Besides going to court and meeting clients, a lawyer not does not have to leave home. Work hours saved by not having to travel to the office and using Zoom leaves time for activities “other than work.” It is a new day and many of us “old codgers” need to get on board.

I sense that achieving a work-life balance is much easier today. I hope so. You want to be a good lawyer and you do not mind hard work, but it is imperative that you take time away from this noble profession to engage with your spouse, your children, and your friends to enjoy your life.