Halloween brings to mind images of scary things like ghosts, goblins and ghouls. However, nothing compares to the fear of failure self-imposed by young lawyers. When I started as an attorney, I was nervous about the many unknowns in the not-so-distant future. I felt as though every bump, obstacle or setback would bring a premature end to my legal career. That line of thinking is ridiculous. It’s unlikely that any single setback will define who I am as a lawyer. I soon realized that all lawyers, regardless of the prefix (young, seasoned or old), face setbacks, disappointments and failures.
For this article, I have taken stock of my initial feelings, concerns and apprehensions as a young lawyer and discovered that I was more afraid of the unknown than anything else. To compare now to then, I discovered a sense of what it means to be resilient. Resilience, by definition, is the ability to recover from tough experiences and setbacks, adapt and move forward. As a lawyer, resilience is about how one handles the unknown as it becomes known to him. Particularly, preparing for a hearing presents many challenges, both in and out of the courtroom. Resilience is a necessary character trait for lawyers to exhibit and a key to overcoming obstacles.
Overcoming the Courtroom
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]