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The Lawyer's Guide to Balancing Life and Work, Second Edition
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If you are dominated by work from the moment you arise until the = moment you=20 turn off the lights at night, you are not alone. Years of narrow focus, = hard=20 work, pressure, and endless striving for material reward are the = hallmark of=20 many lawyers' lives. This newly updated and revised Second Edition is = written=20 specifically to help lawyers achieve professional and personal = satisfaction in=20 their career.
=20
Should Auld Lawyers Be Forgot, and Never Brought to Mind?
December 2006
For the first time in U.S. history, four generations = are=20 working side by side. Do the benefits of this multigenerational = environment=20 outweigh the "graying of the bar" as expressed in a Seattle Times = article?
When each year draws to a close, it=92s hard to avoid the same images = of=20 doddering old Father Time and bright, bouncy Baby New Year. As a lawyer = of a=20 =93certain age=94 =96 who still attends cycling camps with Lance = Armstrong=92s coach =96 I=20 tend to ignore generational stereotypes. This past year, however, two = items on=20 the topic of age and the practice of law caught my eye and led me to = speculate a=20 bit on whether a lawyer can be too old to practice.
An article in The Seattle Times about the =93graying of the = bar,=94 was=20 noticed by blawgers around the country. Noting that 66 percent of the = members of=20 the Washington State Bar are 41 or older, and that 10 percent are over = 60, the=20 article declared that =93 incompetence due to declining skills, failure = to keep=20 pace or dwindling mental acuity may soon rise in the legal = profession.=94 That=20 seems overblown enough, but a second item described a new regulation in = India=20 (where legal work is increasingly being outsourced) stating that if you = are not=20 licensed by the age of 45 you cannot become an advocate. =93We don=92t = want the Bar=20 to become parking lots for retirees,=94 one official was quoted as = saying.
The natural conclusion seems to be that older lawyers are more = careless, have=20 too many pressures in their lives that distract their attention and = cause them=20 to make errors leading to discipline. By implication, younger lawyers = have=20 neither so much business nor such complicated matters as do older = lawyers ...=20 and therefore stay out of the "system."
I disagree. Young lawyers are just as likely to have both large = caseloads and=20 sophisticated matters ... at least the young lawyers that I see. Young = lawyers=20 are closer to the teaching of the rules of professional conduct than are = the=20 older lawyers. But, with MCLE requirements, even the older lawyers know=20 generally what the rules are. So what is the difference?
One difference is that it is the older lawyers who tend to be running = the=20 "business" side of the practice. The younger lawyers = tend to be=20 the followers. Given the =93eat what you kill=94 compensation systems at = many firms,=20 senior partners may not want to share information on clients or = prospects with=20 the next-generation lawyer who might =93steal=94 business before the = first attorney=20 is ready to step away from active practice =96 a problem that I discuss = at length=20 elsewhere in this issue. The point here is not one of competency but of = client=20 service. Age is only incidental to the situation.
Of more direct relevance is the fact that older lawyers should plan = for=20 successfully transitioning their practice well before the time comes = that they=20 choose to retire or are forced by ill health to retire. Failure to plan = for how=20 your clients will be taken care of as you approach the age of retirement = can,=20 according to some authorities, be construed as reckless disregard for = client=20 welfare =96 a true ethical violation. Planning options can include = simply closing=20 or selling the practice, but other options are just as viable: for = example,=20 grooming a successor by hiring an associate to learn the practice, or = merging=20 with or hiring a lateral with the option to sell the practice to him or = her.=20 With a succession plan in place, older lawyers who keep up with evolving = professional rules and trends through MCLE should have no trouble = remaining in=20 practice as long as desired.
All of these concerns about process still do not address the real = problem=20 that, regardless of lawyers=92 ages, the majority of the complaints = against them=20 relate to the careless dealings with clients ... poor service, failure = to return=20 phone calls, inaccurate arithmetic on the billing statements. These are = all=20 management issues, not technical or substantive issues of law. Poor = client=20 service is a problem at any age. Older lawyers who continue to apply the = client=20 service lessons presumably learned throughout their careers ought not to = be in=20 jeopardy on this issue. Nevertheless, especially in a sole practice, = aging=20 lawyers or lawyers committed to closing their practices may emotionally = leave=20 their clients long before they close their doors. This can result in = less=20 effective representation well before the lawyer retires, and it is a = danger to=20 guard against. Large firms have less of a problem: the older lawyer = simply=20 receives the designation of =93special counsel=94 or =93emeritus = partner,=94 and another=20 lawyer in the firm takes over his/her client list.
A final point: Creativity does not have to be an age issue. For = example,=20 people over the age of 40 may know and understand computer technology, = but they=20 remain more comfortable with the use of books and paper records as = creative=20 tools. With the free association that is made possible by glancing = through=20 printed pages, facts and concepts emerge quickly and can be processed in = different ways readily. Computer screens allow only linear searching and = processing; developing a new concept is much harder when you have to = follow the=20 logic of the search program. Is this a generational prejudice? Perhaps = =96 but no=20 more so than the idea that age equals incompetence.
About the Author
Edward Poll, J.D., M.B.A., CMC, is a coach to =
lawyers and=20
certified management consultant who shows attorneys and law firms how to =
be more=20
profitable. Ed's latest book is
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