Practicing Law Until You Drop May Not Be a Wise Decision
As a lawyer practicing for 20 years, I have often heard older lawyers talk about practicing until they drop in their boots. Is it realistic and ethical to think that way?
July 27, 2017 at 05:00 PM
15 minute read
Practicing law until you drop may not be a wise decision.
As a lawyer practicing for 20 years, I have often heard older lawyers talk about practicing until they drop in their boots. Is it realistic and ethical to think that way?
The reality of getting older as a lawyer sometimes interferes with the desire to practice until one's last day on Earth. An older lawyer who practices regularly and vigorously brings a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience to the table. The problem in this modern world is that's not so much appreciated anymore. What is appreciated is if the older lawyer can bring in clients and increased revenue for the firm. Wisdom, knowledge and trial skills are not much appreciated by the younger lawyers, particularly in a world where many cases no longer go to trial.
It's been a difficult awakening for many older lawyers as to what happens when one gets in their late 60s and 70s in terms of their practice. Many lawyers have built a firm over the years with the belief that they would continue as a senior partner in the firm and the younger lawyers would end up supporting them for a period of time. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often anymore. Many of the senior partners who have built a firm are then pushed out by the younger partners who become jealous that the senior partner is perhaps no longer carrying his weight. Of course, the younger partners forget that the senior partner created the firm, generated all the business originally, etc. But, this modern world is what you can do for me tomorrow, not what you did yesterday or even today. As a result, senior lawyers are forced out of the firm or put in a very reduced role. It is very difficult for an older lawyer to leave that firm and then begin again because the energy level is not quite as strong as it is as when one is in their 20s and 30s.
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