March Madness is upon us once again. It has been a time for celebrating the underdog and the perennial amazement at the performance of the Big Dogs.
I look so forward to this competition every year. I never played basketball, but many of my friends and family did. However, I am a devoted sports fan, and I particularly love watching college basketball and lacrosse. There is a lot of similarity of plan and play, I think.
Law firms also get into March Madness. There are pools and side bets and lots of postering and mock rivalries in the hallways of firms large and small.
This is good. It is needed. It allows lawyers, young and old, to relate on a whole other level and in very different way. They like it — even the ones who know nothing about the game and have a friend or spouse fill out their brackets. They support their undergraduate colleges and universities like they were casting the deciding votes on the Supreme Court. It is important to them. And it is fun.
But, why should this kind of positive and sometimes affectionate interaction be a one-off annual experience? Why shouldn’t law firms aim for this more often and with a variety of events. All work and no play makes not only for dull but also unhappy and disillusioned lawyers.
Young lawyers can make efforts to improve these conditions. A little suggestion here or there and initiative need to come from the bottom. If you have not noticed, the top is preoccupied.
Happy Final Four! I will be watching. Hope to “see” you there — having fun.
