Leverage For Lawyers

Posted by Elizabeth Zelinka

What would force a bright, accomplished, motivated individual to stay in a situation that is creating abundant misery and dissatisfaction?  Perhaps there are hundreds of specific answers to that question, but underneath them all is probably one major issue—fear. 

Most people do not embrace positive change because they are afraid to do it.  And perhaps the most powerful question any of us can ask is what are we afraid of? 

As a lawyer in Big Law, one has a perceived sense of financial security, solid identity, outward success, predictable context—the list could go on and on.  The idea of leaving Big Law sends most lawyers into spasms of fear about losing one or all of the above, and so the idea of staying at any costs seems the lesser of two evils. 

What is interesting, however, is that when we work with a lawyer to identify with specificity his or her fears and then to dissect them, one by one, we learn that they are completely imaginary.  They are nothing more than stories that have been made up, and when we test them against reality, they do not hold water.

So, if you are an unhappy lawyer in Big Law, ask yourself why you haven’t left.  Be rigorous and honest.  List out your fears and conduct a true “worst-case” scenario.  Consider your substantial rate of success in life and the very significant resources at your disposal.  The odds are high that you are afraid of things that are very unlikely to materialize. 

As Mark Twain said, “I have had a long life full of many troubles, most of which never happened.”

Elizabeth Zelinka is a Consultant and Career Strategist with Zelinka & Prince Search Partners.  She can be reached through her website at www.zpsearchpartners.com.

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