Perspectives
From the Chair of the ABA Law Practice
Management Section
To be or not to be. That is the question we all have to answer
when we consider our professional development. No matter
where you are, there is a place you want to go. No matter who
you are now, there is the person you still want to become.
How do you get to that place? How do you become that
person? There are no pat or easy answers, and each one of us
has to forge our own path on the journey toward professional
fulfillment.
We are like the quintessential cobbler whose children have
no shoes. It’s ironic that we can plan and strategize for our
clients. We can assist them in developing and implementing
legal options that best serve their interests, personally and
professionally. We know how to represent and advocate for
others. What stops us from doing this for ourselves? How do
we learn to represent and advocate for ourselves?
Just as we take time to learn about our clients to better
represent them, we need to learn about ourselves to be our
own best representatives. Plato wrote, “The first and best
victory is to conquer self.” There is wisdom in this. We need
to learn how to still all the noise that has accumulated in our
heads and listen for the small voice that speaks of who we
are and who we want to be. We advocate best for ourselves
when we know our positions, our limits, our strengths and
our weaknesses. While we have to create our own wheel to
travel the path of self-discovery, we don’t have to reinvent
it. Those who have completed, and those who are currently
on, the journey of professional fulfillment and career satisfaction can instruct us.
Professional fulfillment results when opportunities are
seen and the ones that align with your personal identity are
acted upon. During my years of coaching, I have worked
with several attorneys who were experiencing frustration
about where they were professionally. Probing for the bases
of their frustration, it became apparent that they had not
taken the time to fashion a vision. Without a vision, there
was no plan of action. There was only reaction. Reaction to
what were “hot” legal practice areas rather than action stem-
ming from what fueled their passions; reaction to what others
thought was best for them rather than actions heeding their
inner voices; reaction to questions asked of them rather than
acting on questions asked of themselves. Vision is purposed
discernment by those who have a clear sense of who they are.
With vision there is insight into the location of opportunities
that are aligned to this personal identity. With vision there
can be a plan delineating how to prioritize and respond to
these opportunities. With vision frustration is replaced by
purposed action. With vision there can be measurement of
even the small steps of progression toward a goal.
BY JOAN R. BULLOCK
jbullocklaw@gmail.com
Joan R. Bullock is the Associate Dean for Teaching and Faculty Development and an inaugural professor at Florida A&M University College of Law in Orlando, Fla. She is also The REFORMED Law
ProfSM, where her mission as a reformed member of the legal academy is to provide resources
and to teach law students and lawyers the skills necessary for the business of the practice.
