From Chapter Fourteen: Transition and Opportunity

It is a popular pastime among lawyers these days to wonder, both to themselves and aloud, who will be left standing after the millennial changes that seem certain to transform the profession come about.

No one knows the answer for sure, but one thing seems ever more likely: lawyers who distinguish themselves by virtue of their own wholeness, as it is expressed in their generous humanity and sensitivity to clients' need for meaning, will thrive. Others are likely to founder.

There are several reasons for this. First, it is axiomatic that the stronger and healthier you are emotionally, spiritually, and physically, the better able you'll be to thrive in a world where certainty is illusory and the rules are fluid. The relationship between the modern world and mental well-being is clear: you cannot cope with a chaotic and unpredictable living and working environment without having a very strong sense of place and footing.

The lawyer who thrives will be the one who is nimble enough to play a variety of roles for his clients and is sufficiently centered to ride successive waves of change without losing a sense of equilibrium.

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One theme of this book that has not been overtly stated but is frequently implied is that spiritual practice makes the invisible visible. Through conscious attention to the inner as well as the outer life, we become aware of things we used to miss. The connective tissue of society, for example--not only economic and political, but also emotional and spiritual--becomes ever clearer. Seeing these connections, the lawyer can factor in the human meanings that underlie legal entanglements, using this new resource to fashion more fitting solutions for clients who need more than just legal advice.

Beginning the Discussion

It is time to start talking, time to end the self-imposed gag rules that prevent lawyers from discussing what really matters to them, how they really feel about law practice, and what they dream the practice might become. Conversation, when entered into with a spirit of openness, is another means of making the invisible visible. When problems are named, they lose some of their bite and can be viewed realistically; when feelings and perceptions come to the fore, they often reveal a strong commonality among those involved in the discussion; when memories of moments when law practice gave much more than it asked for are shared, the yearning for a better way begins to coalesce; and when misgivings about the direction the profession has taken are aired, the desire for change can be harnessed. There is a great deal of locked-up emotion in the profession. Denying it does no one any good. It's time to face--on a profession--wide level-what is really going on in the lives of lawyers.

Individual lawyers must begin testing the waters of self-disclosure. It has to start somewhere. On the institutional level too, methods for facilitating open and honest dialogue will be essential.

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So look first to yourself. Then look to each other. Start talking. If you need an opening, or an excuse, to broach these issues, use this book. Mention it and the ideas it touches on.

"There comes a time when you find that you've promised yourself to things that are just too small," the poet David Whyte has said. If his words resonate with you, let the feelings they evoke guide you. And allow yourself the luxury of having some faith that, although the light may as yet be dim, the growing power of your awareness--especially when united with that of your professional colleagues--will concentrate and enhance it so that it may yet show the way to do something larger.