Readers may recall previous columns inTL from years back in which I explored the phenomenon of the Impostor Syndrome. To review, the Impostor Syndrome is that condition wherein the successful person is dogged by feelings of falseness, and that he or she will at any moment be found to be a fraud, and will be “outed” as such. This is quite common in successful people. To the person with IS, it feels like the typical difficulties of mastering law practice represent a lingering inner disability that, if noticed, will prove that she has no business in law and would be better off waiting tables.

Or, perhaps the opposite configuration exists: The lawyer finds it so easy to grasp basic principles, get favorable outcomes, interact with clients, get new business, integrate with peers, etc. It's all just too … easy, shouldn't it be more of a struggle? If it's so easy, maybe I shouldn't be paid this much, right?

Such are the ways of the Inner Critic, sticking its foot out in the dark to trip us up when we least expect it. I recently sat down with one of the most successful trial lawyers in his community, and we talked about the way the Inner Critic has shaped his life.