One thing that I'm quickly learning as I sift through the survey responses is that lawyers are an enigmatic and diverse group. Joon-Soo Kim is no exception. In fact, I laughed when I read his response to my last survey question, "Any final words of wisdom? How has living your passion impacted your life?"
His response, "Living my passion? When did I say that?"
Good One Joon-Soo! :-)
But what I like most is that, in his final quip, he leaves us with the impression that his journey is still unfolding; his collective experiences in law, business and future entrepreneurial adventures are simply par for the course.
In reading his responses, you get the impression that Joon-Soo is introspective, a requisite quality for those of us seeking alternative careers. Initially, the image of the profession attracted him - the prestige, the settings and the nature of problems to be solved. Until one day, following the death of his mother and the transfer of a partner to another firm, for whom he did 95% of his work, Joon-Soo had his wake-up call.
He recognized that the most successful partners shared two qualities:
(1) a love for serving their clients; and
(2) viewed solving legal problems as fun.
He writes, "I shared neither the service mentality nor the enthusiasm at solving legal puzzles - At the end of the day, I didn't feel like I was producing anything." This begs the question, "Is a great part of what breeds disgruntled lawyers, perhaps, our inability to recognize and/or accept that the payoffs for being a lawyer are not what truly motivate us?"
This got me thinking about how I would respond to the following:
At the end of the work day, I want to feel _______.
The answers that I came up with off the top of my head are:
- energized.
- challenged and engaged.
- that work has been fun.
- that I've motivated people to take action.
- that I've contributed to the success of other people.
- that I've created something from nothing (or, at least, devised the plan that will).
- that I've collaborated with great thinkers and learned something in the process.
How would you fill in the blank? And can you think of a career where those outcomes are most likely to occur for you? I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment and let me know.
Click here to read Joon-Soo's survey answers in their entirety.
If you've enjoyed this article, please pass it on to your friends via email or your favorite social networking site. But, most importantly, tell the transitioning and former lawyers in your life to take a few minutes to share their wisdom via this survey.
I got that impression when reading Joon-Soo's survey as well! And I do think that lawyers who leave might hide that about themselves. Um... :-)
Posted by: Taisha Rucker | June 26, 2008 at 07:35 PM
I met Joon-Soo at business school and then we worked together for a number of years. I can't begin to tell you how surprised I was to learn that he is a "recovering" lawyer. His personality and skill set doesn't match what I perceive to be necessary in the legal profession. Not that he can't kick booty in whatever he sets his mind to, rather that he's destined for bigger, better things!
Posted by: Emily M. | June 25, 2008 at 06:44 PM