It's a Different World

Until now, lawyers over the age of 50 have been in the minority. In 1960, the median age of lawyers in the United States was 46. By 1980, the median age of lawyers had dropped to 39 as the baby boomers entered the profession. As these boomers advance through their careers, the median age will increase, and by the year 2020, more than half of the attorneys in the United States will be over 50.¹

Today, far from being a relaxed, respected elder, experienced lawyers are expected to contribute as much if not more than they always have. The competition both between and within an organization is fierce. The "good old days" are gone. Marc Galanter wrote the following in the Wisconsin Law Review:²

Galanter is the John and Rylla Bosshard professor of law and South Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Tournament of Lawyers (with Thomas Palay).

What Does This Mean to Me?

If these changes make you uncomfortable, the good news is you are not alone. "Attorneys age 50 and older find it more difficult physically and emotionally to deal with the same stresses they have dealt with throughout their legal careers," says Ed Modell, a litigator for 28 years. "Looking back, stress was a large factor in the medical conditions that caused me to give up practice at age 56."

Modell now runs a successful consulting, coaching, and mediation practice and has recently been appointed workplace ombuds for the Administrative Office of the Courts of the State of Maryland. "After years of focusing on what was important to my clients, I suddenly had to think about what is important to me. I wanted a new career combined with volunteer work-and I wanted all of it to be meaningful," says Modell.

What's Next?

Whether in-house or at a firm, when the time comes to retire, all attorneys will be pressed to think "what next?" To a large extent, the next chapter of your life will be what you make of it. You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you can choose how to approach them, altering the quality of your experience and perhaps finding fresh possibilities. If you retire because you feel you have no other option, chances are you will be miserable once you stop working. By contrast, if you actively decide retirement will be an exciting new chapter, you will enjoy a very different experience.

The Flourishing Process™ can help you navigate the transition from your current circumstances to what's next.

The Flourishing Process

Clarity:  What do you want to be different?

It is common for lawyers to define themselves by their work or their title. While work is certainly an important part of one's identity, this one-dimensional definition can lead to problems. When work stops, your powerful professional identity can evaporate.

Studies have found lawyers with the highest incomes and most prestigious specialties are on the whole least satisfied with their lives as lawyers.³ If this describes you, now is the perfect time to revisit who you have been, and who you are becoming, and to explore ways to add meaning and purpose in your life.

"It usually does not work to simply stop practicing law and expect something else to come along that will keep one engaged and involved," says Modell. "I have seen some friends get really depressed after six months of playing tennis. Yet it takes time and effort to find the right fit in terms of a new career or volunteer work."

It's easy to become paralyzed, looking for the "right" or "best" answer. Remember, there is no perfect answer. Not only will each person's answer be different, what is right for any one of us may change over time or as we learn more about ourselves, our preferences, and our needs. Every journey begins with the first step. Take time to draft your answers to the questions below, knowing you can and will continue to hone your answers as you get new information from your choices and actions. Ask yourself:

• What do you want to be different for your remaining time in your current position?
   
• What do you want to be different after you move on?

Choice: What do you choose?

With your newfound clarity, what choices do you need to make to accept and embrace these changes?

• What are you currently doing that you need to do more?
   
• What are you currently doing that you need to do less?

These two may be combined. For example, to mentor younger lawyers and reduce your workload, perhaps you need to delegate more and do less work yourself. What new things do you need to start? For example, if you want to volunteer with an organization that requires training, you might need to start an orientation or volunteer training program. What things do you need to stop altogether?

Action:  What will you do?

What steps do you need to take to make sure the rest of your career and your life beyond today's job are satisfying?

Ask yourself:

• What do you need to do now to position yourself for your next chapter? Do you need new skills? Do you need entries into new organizations?
   
• How will you transition your current client relationships?
   
• When will you do each of these things? What will you do today? What will you do by the end of next week? What will you do in six months?

If you are part of the senior lawyer boom, you are, by and large, healthy and financially secure, and as a result, have many options for what comes next. What will happen after you have left the building?

NOTES

1. Galanter, Marc, "'Old and in the Way': The Coming Demographic Transformation of the Legal Profession and Its Implications for the Provision of Legal Services," Wisconsin Law Review: 1084, 1112 (1999).
2. Id. p. 1095.
3. Id. p. 1108.

Heather Bradley, CPCC, and Miriam Bamberger Grogan, CPCC, are the co-founders of The Flourishing Company, a workplace consulting firm which changes the way people experience work.  They are the authors of  Judge For Yourself:  Clarity, Choice and Action in Your Legal Career, published by the American Bar Association in cooperation with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

From the July/August 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar^®