To a young lawyer

My friend Stephanie West Allen asked me if I would write a "letter to a young lawyer," to become a possible piece of an anthology of such letters she is working on. Great idea! Mine is below, very timely in that in the spring, law schools everywhere give birth to their new litters of baby lawyers. And I'd say the words are mostly pertinent to the new ones in any profession (including those among you who are my own newly graduated counselors!).

To a young lawyer:

You probably already realize that law school has taught you very little, if anything, about the practice of law. You are trying hard not to let anyone else see how frightened and inexperienced you are. Although those days were 30 years ago for me, I remember them very clearly. I remember that I sweated profusely and hyperventilated every time I went into a courtroom on my own, and that I was terribly confused by half of what the other lawyers and judges were so casually saying to each other.

The confusion about how to practice law, what to say and do without looking like a fool, will pass fairly quickly; but other aspects of the practice of law are just as important, and sometimes more difficult to learn and remember. It is these non-technical matters I would like to address for you, in the form of a set of guidelines that have served as a personal code for me throughout my professional life. These guidelines were given to me by other lawyers, mentors, and judges who taught them to me by their example. Sometimes they were difficult to follow; in fact, many lawyers follow them very rarely, if ever. You will know these lawyers when you run across them, and I am sure that you will know that you do not want to be like them.

If you have told someone that you will do something, move heaven and earth to get it done; if you cannot get it done, apologize and make it right. Never blame anyone else on your failure or inability to make good on a promise. Make sure that you become the kind of person who can be totally relied upon to make good upon any assurances given.

Your reputation is everything. If you have a reputation as a good, solid, honest lawyer, then you can survive any other kind of loss. If you lose your good reputation, then it doesn’t much matter what else you may have gained or retained.

Communicate with your clients, colleagues, retained experts, and opposing counsel. Communicate clearly, and often. With your clients, make sure that you are up-front about what can (and cannot) be accomplished. Put it in writing, because they will remember what you said through the distorting filter of their own hopes, wishes, and expectations.

Act like a grown-up. Be on time; be five minutes early for court (and for appointments), always. When you fail to do so, you are telling everyone else that you believe that you and your problems are more important than everyone else’s.

Whatever may befall you and your clients: Don’t take it personally. When you win, do so graciously, and do not gloat. When you lose, do so graciously. Congratulate your opponent.

When it comes time to give back: Give back. Someone will teach you the ropes when you are starting out, and s/he will do so without any extra compensation, and probably without even expecting to be thanked. And later, sooner than you expect, younger lawyers will show up in your life, and they will need a hand. When that happens, you will realize that it is faster and easier to do something by yourself than to teach someone how to do it; but you have incurred a debt to those younger lawyers, in that you received help from those who mentored you. When you accepted help from your mentors, you implicitly promised that you would take your turn by filling the shoes of a mentor, when your time comes. You will find your life greatly enriched by having done so.