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There’s more to a successful career than six figures

By: DOLAN MEDIA NEWSWIRES//April 11, 2013//

There’s more to a successful career than six figures

By: DOLAN MEDIA NEWSWIRES//April 11, 2013//

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By John Streby
Dolan Media Newswires

A fat paycheck is not the only measure of a successful legal career.

In a recent opinion piece in Michigan Lawyers Weekly, writer David Fink asserted that state’s judges deserve a pay raise because otherwise their so-called “below average” salaries will narrow the field of aspirants to the “very wealthy” and “the very unsuccessful, who can’t do better in private practice.”

I believe that this view of lawyer success is elitist, narrow-minded and insulting to the vast legions of lawyers who — for a variety of reasons — don’t generate six-figure incomes.

I’d like to offer my own list of the attributes of a successful career:

  • The acquisition of a high degree of competence and skill in a given area, enabling both your clients and the system to benefit from a high quality of advocacy.
  • A record of mature, creative problem-solving that focuses on the objective, long-term interests of the clients, rather than short-term gratification for either the lawyer or clients.
  • The ability to present cases and arguments in a way that contributes to, rather than erodes, respect for the legal system.
  • The respect of one’s peers on both the bench and the bar, derived from a consistent track record of diligent performance, civility, candor toward the tribunal, and the ability to focus on genuine issues while not wasting the time of the court, the opponent, and others with superfluous and irrelevant issues and arguments.
  • The ability to stick with a client, a case or a cause despite setbacks and disappointments.
  • The ability to balance the demands of a legal career with the needs of family members, personal growth and gratification, and spiritual fulfillment.
  • The level of introspection needed to know when to plunge forward and persist, and when to accept defeat and quit — at both the case-by-case level, and in terms of one’s overall career aspirations.
  • A history of giving back to the legal profession, in any of the variety of ways: by bar association service, as a CLE lecturer, by writing for bar publications, by volunteering by ADR work, and by mentoring others.
  • Maintenance of good physical health while resisting the temptations offered by overeating, alcohol, drugs, infidelity and other personal excesses.
  • The emotional balance needed to avoid burnout, depression, and erosion of self-esteem based on the unrealistic earnings and expectations of others.
  • And, yes, an income level that allows a comfortable lifestyle and the rewards that are deserved by those doing demanding, high-stress work.

John Streby is a Flint, Mich.-based bankruptcy and divorce attorney.

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