It seems that lawyers, as a group, more than any other occupation, get totally engrossed in their work to the exclusion of most everything else. Perhaps due to the nature of the work that lawyers perform, and the circumstances that surround their work, most everything else goes by the wayside - - family, relationships, health, community, fun - - everything but work.
Without going into why that is, most lawyers know one or more colleagues who are good examples of the foregoing statement. Thank goodness that does not apply to the majority of lawyers but, unfortunately, it applies to too many lawyers.
A front page lead article in the May 2008 California State Bar Journal with the heading "Depression takes a heavy toll on lawyers," mentions a Johns Hopkins University study showing lawyers suffering the highest rate of depression among workers in 104 different occupations. And, a University of Washington study found that 19% of lawyers suffered depression compared to only 3-9% in the general population.
Many of us learn too late, often as a result of having suffered a traumatic circumstance (e.g. a divorce, heart attack, ulcers, loss of a loved one, etc) that there is more to life than winning the office award for having spent the most time in the office or racking up the most billable hours.
Jan Vaughn Mock, a partner in the San Francisco office of Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliott, writes in the May 19, 2008 Los Angeles Daily Journal (Legal) Newspaper that it took a broken leg in a ski accident to teach her that lesson. She wrote, "ill-health sometimes teaches that there is nothing more important than life itself - with all its ups and downs - and the people in it." She further stated, "There is so much love and kinship and support and gratitude around us each day as lawyers, but rarely do we take the time to truly see it unless we are forced to." She concluded, "Don't let it take an accident, or illness or disease, to remind you of what surrounds you each day - there is little else in life but the love and laughter we enjoy from our family and friends - don't fret so much over the billable hours, the originations, the collections - must we be reminded that, in the big scheme of things, these are among the least important things of all - we are blessed to be paid for doing what we love, it's a reward, and nothing more; but there are far greater rewards in life; keep it in perspective."
Michael Josephson, in a Commentary entitled "Live Backwards," asks the question: "If you died tomorrow, what would people say about you? Would it make you proud of the way you lived and the choices you made? If you want to know how to live your life, think about what you'd like people to say about you after you die - - and live backwards."
Josephson believes that thinking about the legacy we want to leave can help us keep our priorities straight. That when the end is near, it's not likely any of us will say, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office."
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