For those of you taking the bar exam this week, good luck. It is a miserable test no matter how you look at it. For those who think they aced it, it is considered a waste of time –until they find out differently. For the rest of the bar exam test takers, it is an extremely stressful experience.
The next step for you is not as miserable, but it can be very challenging. Your first job as a practicing lawyer is just around the corner, and you are not altogether sure what to expect and how you will handle the challenges. So, I offer you this advice. Read my book. New Lawyer Launch: The Handbook for Young Lawyers (Full Court Press, 2022) is a candid and blatantly straightforward guide for lawyers in the first years of practice. Order it from Amazon or from my publisher.
I am joined in this book by more than a dozen practicing lawyers, including managing partners of BigLaw, who validate the advice and share their own anecdotes about avoiding mistakes and creating strategies for survival and success. It may not be your most enjoyable beach read, but being familiar with the content will pay off in spades when Summer turns to Fall and you are able to mix confidence with the excitement of a law practice that is new to you. Law school never covered this stuff, and I want you to know it.
And now, I am off on my annual sojourn to the Atlantic shore with my family. Husband, sibling, in-law, kids, grand kids, friends … all of it. It is my way of recharging each summer, and it is a MUST in my life. I will be back in September with more to share on the state of law practice and your place in it.
Have a wonderful August. Do something new. Break out. Surprise everyone. You are so ready for it!
