Ten Key Points to Remember Throughout Your Career
By 1. The most important case you have is the one sitting in front of you, because that client is there for that moment, trusting that you are going to invest yourself in his or her case.
2. Your greatest source of referrals is your fellow lawyers. Value your relationship with other members of the bar.
3. It is always easier and quicker to ask one of your senior partners a question and have them answer your concern than to spend two hours trying to look up an answer. It saves the partner and you time and money—and lessens frustration for both of you as well! Remember that older lawyers were once younger lawyers, and they actually don’t mind answering questions, because they have been there before you!
4. Be involved in your community! Show others that you care about issues that affect their lives. In many small and medium-sized towns, you may be the only example of a lawyer that others see. Lawyers are generally automatically recognized as leaders in their community, and others expect you to be involved. As my father used to say to me, “To be ordinary is to be ungrateful.”
5. Take the time to involve yourself in the things that you love doing. That will not only make your life more enjoyable in your local community, but it will also have the positive by-product of enhancing your practice!
6. You can’t have a dream come true unless you first have a dream. Take the time to visualize where you want to be in the next five years, 10 years and 20 years! Work toward those goals and realize that life includes all aspects of the things in which you are involved—not just your law practice!
7. Be faithful to the calling that God is giving you and realize that you are answering a higher calling than just what your senior partners may be requesting that you do. Live an exemplary life professionally and personally.
8. Always take the time to interrupt your schedule to put family first and be involved in your church or community service. There may be a priority to be fulfilled, even when it may not be convenient. God will certainly redeem the time that you have spent on that interruption! It may be the opportunity for divine intervention and blessing in a way that you could not even imagine at the time!
9. Take the time to be involved in bar organizations and activities. It gives you a fresh perspective on your work in answering your call as an attorney—and it gives you a foundation for great relationships with fellow members of the bar—not only locally, but statewide, and perhaps even nationally!
10. Don’t take every case that may show up at your door. Pray for wisdom, and make sure that you are peaceful (and hopefully excited) about accepting the case! It will save you, your firm and your potential client many headaches later!