This week in Young, Hungry & Committed: Virtual office NYC attorney Vivian Sobers experienced a whirlwind of change this Summer 2014 and wonders if her professional training has made it more challenging to deal with it.
Welcome back! I hope you are easing in to the bustle of Fall with grace.
Autumn is the season of change, but it seems that Fall came early for me this year. The past two months were a whirlwind of big changes, both in my practice and personal life.
While reflecting on every dramatic twist and turn that occurred over the Summer, it got me thinking about change and our profession. For better or worse, we as a profession are not really known for rapid change.
I wondered: does our professional training make us afraid of change?
I mean, there are some people who thrive on change. You know who they are. They need it in their lives to feel fulfilled.
I’m not really sure that those are the types of people who are attracted to the practice of law.
The way I see it, our profession’s reluctance to change is steeped in our training. We are taught to love precedent. As a profession, we have an appreciation for what’s been established, and whether you’re dealing with common law or statute, there’s a process for effecting change that’s not exactly swift.
Then there’s our professional culture. How we dress, speak, behave and work, how we maintain an office, is reasonably consistent from one lawyer to another, and it hasn’t changed much over time.
Clients have come to expect certain things from us, and I think that if we present an image that is inconsistent with their expectations, I’m pretty sure they would freak out. At least my clients would.
Law, the one constant in my life.
To be honest, with every dramatic shift that happened in my life over the Summer, I was grateful for that one constant in my life: the law and my love for it. It kept me sane through every peak and valley.
The upside is, all this change has given me a lot of fodder for this blog series, which I plan to share with you over the next few weeks. Get ready to learn all about my three little bears, the hamsters, the crickets in my office, my new boyfriend, and a whole lot more.
The one who “discovered” me…
One thing I can share with you now: over the Summer, the gentleman at Law Firm Suites who “discovered” me, and who has served as my editor for the past two years, has moved on to a new chapter in his life. He really believed in my story and gave me the confidence that other attorneys would be interested too. If not for him, this blog series would not be what it is today.
Speaking about our professional culture, we are not known as a profession for being open and honest with others about our fears or failures. But this guy encouraged me to be honest about everything that is going on in my life, which has been pivotal to the success of this series.
In a lot of ways, I bared my soul to this gentleman and we became very close.
I’m now working with new editors, which is both exciting and a bit scary because it requires making an investment in whole new set of relationships. In all, I’m excited to start a new chapter with this project.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to my old editor and friend. I wish you the best of luck with wherever your professional path takes you.
My name is Vivian Sobers, and I’m young, hungry and committed to change.
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Vivian Sobers is a commercial litigator pursuing a solo law practice right out of law school. She is a client in Law Firm Suites’ Virtual Office Program. Vivian’s weekly blog series “Young, Hungry and Committed” documents the trials and tribulations of a young attorney navigating her way through the challenging world of self-employed legal practice.
