To Every Lawyer There Is a Season
The Change of Seasons
The advent of autumn is the point in the year at which the change in seasons has particular impact - perhaps because, no matter where we live, we know worse winter weather is coming. But the seasons move through their progression, whether or not we prefer to speed up or slow down the calendar.
A law career is somewhat similar. When you enter practice, you can grow, learn, develop and contribute to others. You travel a path of growth that has established seasons every bit as different and as full as the weather seasons of the year. By the time you have traversed the career seasons, you have the opportunity to develop and contribute mightily in many ways. Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort in each season to become the best of which you are capable.
Setting Business and Professional Goals
You live one life and must think holistically, but in a small firm or large one, developing a career requires planning to set overall goals and specific strategies. Once you view a legal career as a series of business and professional development seasons, your perception changes. Consider this summary of how the seasons of a lawyer's career can be regarded:
Spring is the time when careers take root for early and mid-level associates. They must learn "The Business of Law®," find allies and mentors in the firm, and work to develop clients and roles in significant matters. A good spring means taking charge of your own career. Summer is when careers grow fastest for pre-partner associates, early level partners. They are building books of business and an identity in the community to the point when hopefully they will evaluate the decision whether to become a partner. If they are not given that option, the decision they face is growing their careers at a new firm. In career Autumn, mid-level partners and firm leaders see their hard work ripen as they often take roles to direct the firm's future. That takes mastering leadership skills, especially the art of delegation, while mentoring young lawyers who will shape the firm's future. The trap for these lawyers to avoid is the self-satisfaction that leads to obsolescence and de-equitization. Last comes Winter, the time to assess your career and prepare to move to a new season. The career decision is whether and how long to remain in practice - which involves deciding how to transition clients, designate a successor or buyer for your practice, and find the new direction of your life.
Growing Your Career
Career growth in this perspective becomes a process of understanding what you ought to do in each season. Lawyers who understand how to grow a career through its successive seasons can better assess the value they provide, and better reflect it in their performance.
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