How to Succeed as a Lawyer
From http://www.sanantoniobar.org/members/salawyer/success.html
You'll know, from the length of this letter, that the writer is a lawyer, if not Hemingway or Proust or some Nobel prize-winning writer.....I already cut out a lot of paragraphs.....but i think it's worth a read~
You'll know, from the length of this letter, that the writer is a lawyer, if not Hemingway or Proust or some Nobel prize-winning writer.....I already cut out a lot of paragraphs.....but i think it's worth a read~
Almost 40 years ago, attorney Roland Boyd of McKinney wrote a letter to his son offering tips on how to be a successful lawyer. When several State Bar officials saw the letter, they prevailed upon the elder Boyd to allow the Texas Bar Journal to print it. Boyd agreed and it appeared in the November 1963 issue.
Dear Son:
You are now in your senior year in law school. Maybe a few things I have learned in 30 years in the law practice will be helpful. Law school is teaching you things which will be good for your clients; the following will be good for you. You cannot have professional happiness unless you are financially successful.
One of the greatest pleasures in life is achievement. In my judgment, if you will remember the following 21 things, you will have a long, happy, and successful career.
1. Remember, the rule of nine:
It works this way — nine people out of 10 are good, honest, intelligent, decent, and fair-minded people. Therefore, if you want to have the odds, nine to one, in your favor, get on the right side of the issue. In the legal profession the right side of the issue is the side that helps society. In other words, don’t injure your fellow man. In the courtroom the rule of nine works the same way.
2. Remember, a lawyer’s integrity is of vital concern to the community.
If the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker are not honest, this is not a major catastrophe. But on the other hand, the lawyer plays such a vital role in the lives of his fellow men that if he is not honest, it is a major catastrophe. Let me give you some examples of vital roles a lawyer is called on to play:
(c) A few weeks ago, an elderly retired farmer, a good, sound citizen, came to the office bringing with him a smartly and attractively dressed daughter, apparently about 35 years old. He told me a story of the daughter’s marriage to an energetic, handsome, well-educated, dynamic young man, how well he was doing in business, how the family began growing, and then embezzlement, then divorce, then a new life, then remarriage, then robbery with firearms and murder, now a death penalty in just a day or so. “We need your help.”
(d) Several months ago, on Saturday afternoon, while I was in the office with the outside doors locked, a telephone call from a middle-aged man I had represented for years, as well as his father before him, in a distressed voice, said, “I am downstairs, your door locked but I was just praying that you were in. I must talk to you.” When he arrived, he showed me several daily newspapers that he had just gotten out of the Post Office from a distant city. The headlines and front page articles told a story of a liquor store stickup with the owner being murdered when he tried to reach for a gun, the capture by police blockade, the laboratory reports proving conclusively who had fired the shot that killed the owner. His son. Crying like a baby, the man said: “Help me. What can I do?”
(f) In 30 years of practicing law I have felt that my professional duty required me to ask a jury to take a man’s life on three different occasions. In two cases, the jury complied with my request; in the third the defendant took his own life the day he was sentenced for life. Under these conditions the only reward life provides is a clear conscience. No profession can be more vital than one which makes such requirements on its members. Therefore, the integrity of its members is certainly of major concern to society.
10. Remember, the end does not justify the means.
Two wrongs do not make a right. It is better to lose than not to fight according to the rules. It is extremely easy for a young lawyer to violate these rules. If you have a growing family to support on a meager income, there is a strong temptation to become lax on your professional morals. Many times it might appear necessary to “fudge” a little. You will profit financially if you don’t do it. The magnitude of responsibility entrusted to you is in direct proportion to the confidence people have in you. No one can destroy the confidence of other people in you, except you. Integrity is key; therefore, you must not only be honest, but also you must maintain the appearance of honesty.
11. Remember, to be a good lawyer you must first be a good man.
Your sole ambition should be to be a good husband, a good father, a good neighbor, a good citizen, and a good lawyer. If you achieve this, you will have achieved all the success there is. The pressure of life. In the space age, it is very easy for a young man to get the idea that he must be a dynamic individual, he must break all records, he must set the world on fire. If he gets this idea, he starts life with a handicap. The papers are full of such cases at this time.
14. Remember, your clients subconsciously make you the guardian of their morals.
As inconspicuously as possible you should assume this responsibility. If you do, and discharge it properly, it will help you build a good law practice:
(a) Many years ago a client who lived in a nearby city came to the office and said, “That case you are representing me in, I got to thinking, that property represents 90 percent of my life’s work. If you lose that case, I am ruined. A man told me if I would go to so and so and pay him $10,000, then my property would be reappraised at a high figure and I could settle without a trial. I have about decided to do it that way. What do you think?” I told him in my opinion he would be making the greatest mistake he had ever made; that he had always been honest and I couldn’t see any reason for him to change this late in life. He reluctantly agreed. A few months later he was well pleased with the outcome of his case, and told me many times that I kept him from ruining a happy and successful life. He consulted me on every important matter for the balance of his life.
16. Remember, there is no sure way to bind men together and keep them bound by any written instrument.
The only thing that binds men together is the fact that under all circumstances most men, without knowing what the other will do, will reach for the golden rope of justice, truth, decency, and fairness and thereby bind themselves to every other person who grasps the same rope. This is the only combine that will endure.
17. Remember, to live for your fiftieth birthday.
Soon after I graduated and opened my office, one of the service clubs had as guest speaker an evangelist who was holding a revival in a big tent on the trade lot. In his talk he said: “I don’t care what your life’s work is; if you are a young man just beginning, I am going to tell you what to expect from life. If from now until your fiftieth birthday you will make every decision in your business or profession in such a way as you think helps society, from your fiftieth birthday on, for the balance of your life, the pleasure you get from your life’s work will double every 12 months. On the other hand, if your decisions are against society, your disappointments and your miseries will double every 12 months.” I am now three years past my fiftieth birthday. I believe the man was right.
18. Remember, money loses most of its importance when you get sufficient food, clothing and shelter for you and your family.
And at this point with most people the pleasure diminishes as the amount increases. People who have nothing but money have very little.
20. Remember, that many of your thrills, excitement, unusual experiences, etc. , will come in peculiar fashion and at unexpected times:
(a) A call from an undertaker saying the funeral has started, that he is calling for one of the mourners who asked that you not accept employment from any one else until he could get to your office after the funeral.
(b) While walking to the office just at sun-up during the middle of a long, vicious trial, on coming to an intersection, seeing a man standing in the middle of the walk, with no other human being in sight, who three days before said he was going to whip you, on account of your role in the trial.
(c) The woman who drove 20 miles, rushed into your office, and said, “I just heard you died of a heart attack. Thank God it wasn’t true.”
(d) On driving up to a filling station, the owner whom you don’t remember ever having seen before, saying to a child: “Honey, go get your mother; this man talked us out of getting a divorce many years ago. We both want to thank him.”
(e) Clients who send more than their fee, and say you didn’t charge them enough (this doesn’t happen often, but it gives you a thrill when it does).
(f) Thank you letters from distant heirs that you have never met.
(g) People coming to your office as new clients, whom you have previously sued.
I believe that after you have practiced law for 30 years, you too, will know that law is the greatest profession there is.
Sincerely,
Your Father
Dear Son:
You are now in your senior year in law school. Maybe a few things I have learned in 30 years in the law practice will be helpful. Law school is teaching you things which will be good for your clients; the following will be good for you. You cannot have professional happiness unless you are financially successful.
One of the greatest pleasures in life is achievement. In my judgment, if you will remember the following 21 things, you will have a long, happy, and successful career.
1. Remember, the rule of nine:
It works this way — nine people out of 10 are good, honest, intelligent, decent, and fair-minded people. Therefore, if you want to have the odds, nine to one, in your favor, get on the right side of the issue. In the legal profession the right side of the issue is the side that helps society. In other words, don’t injure your fellow man. In the courtroom the rule of nine works the same way.
2. Remember, a lawyer’s integrity is of vital concern to the community.
If the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker are not honest, this is not a major catastrophe. But on the other hand, the lawyer plays such a vital role in the lives of his fellow men that if he is not honest, it is a major catastrophe. Let me give you some examples of vital roles a lawyer is called on to play:
(c) A few weeks ago, an elderly retired farmer, a good, sound citizen, came to the office bringing with him a smartly and attractively dressed daughter, apparently about 35 years old. He told me a story of the daughter’s marriage to an energetic, handsome, well-educated, dynamic young man, how well he was doing in business, how the family began growing, and then embezzlement, then divorce, then a new life, then remarriage, then robbery with firearms and murder, now a death penalty in just a day or so. “We need your help.”
(d) Several months ago, on Saturday afternoon, while I was in the office with the outside doors locked, a telephone call from a middle-aged man I had represented for years, as well as his father before him, in a distressed voice, said, “I am downstairs, your door locked but I was just praying that you were in. I must talk to you.” When he arrived, he showed me several daily newspapers that he had just gotten out of the Post Office from a distant city. The headlines and front page articles told a story of a liquor store stickup with the owner being murdered when he tried to reach for a gun, the capture by police blockade, the laboratory reports proving conclusively who had fired the shot that killed the owner. His son. Crying like a baby, the man said: “Help me. What can I do?”
(f) In 30 years of practicing law I have felt that my professional duty required me to ask a jury to take a man’s life on three different occasions. In two cases, the jury complied with my request; in the third the defendant took his own life the day he was sentenced for life. Under these conditions the only reward life provides is a clear conscience. No profession can be more vital than one which makes such requirements on its members. Therefore, the integrity of its members is certainly of major concern to society.
10. Remember, the end does not justify the means.
Two wrongs do not make a right. It is better to lose than not to fight according to the rules. It is extremely easy for a young lawyer to violate these rules. If you have a growing family to support on a meager income, there is a strong temptation to become lax on your professional morals. Many times it might appear necessary to “fudge” a little. You will profit financially if you don’t do it. The magnitude of responsibility entrusted to you is in direct proportion to the confidence people have in you. No one can destroy the confidence of other people in you, except you. Integrity is key; therefore, you must not only be honest, but also you must maintain the appearance of honesty.
11. Remember, to be a good lawyer you must first be a good man.
Your sole ambition should be to be a good husband, a good father, a good neighbor, a good citizen, and a good lawyer. If you achieve this, you will have achieved all the success there is. The pressure of life. In the space age, it is very easy for a young man to get the idea that he must be a dynamic individual, he must break all records, he must set the world on fire. If he gets this idea, he starts life with a handicap. The papers are full of such cases at this time.
14. Remember, your clients subconsciously make you the guardian of their morals.
As inconspicuously as possible you should assume this responsibility. If you do, and discharge it properly, it will help you build a good law practice:
(a) Many years ago a client who lived in a nearby city came to the office and said, “That case you are representing me in, I got to thinking, that property represents 90 percent of my life’s work. If you lose that case, I am ruined. A man told me if I would go to so and so and pay him $10,000, then my property would be reappraised at a high figure and I could settle without a trial. I have about decided to do it that way. What do you think?” I told him in my opinion he would be making the greatest mistake he had ever made; that he had always been honest and I couldn’t see any reason for him to change this late in life. He reluctantly agreed. A few months later he was well pleased with the outcome of his case, and told me many times that I kept him from ruining a happy and successful life. He consulted me on every important matter for the balance of his life.
16. Remember, there is no sure way to bind men together and keep them bound by any written instrument.
The only thing that binds men together is the fact that under all circumstances most men, without knowing what the other will do, will reach for the golden rope of justice, truth, decency, and fairness and thereby bind themselves to every other person who grasps the same rope. This is the only combine that will endure.
17. Remember, to live for your fiftieth birthday.
Soon after I graduated and opened my office, one of the service clubs had as guest speaker an evangelist who was holding a revival in a big tent on the trade lot. In his talk he said: “I don’t care what your life’s work is; if you are a young man just beginning, I am going to tell you what to expect from life. If from now until your fiftieth birthday you will make every decision in your business or profession in such a way as you think helps society, from your fiftieth birthday on, for the balance of your life, the pleasure you get from your life’s work will double every 12 months. On the other hand, if your decisions are against society, your disappointments and your miseries will double every 12 months.” I am now three years past my fiftieth birthday. I believe the man was right.
18. Remember, money loses most of its importance when you get sufficient food, clothing and shelter for you and your family.
And at this point with most people the pleasure diminishes as the amount increases. People who have nothing but money have very little.
20. Remember, that many of your thrills, excitement, unusual experiences, etc. , will come in peculiar fashion and at unexpected times:
(a) A call from an undertaker saying the funeral has started, that he is calling for one of the mourners who asked that you not accept employment from any one else until he could get to your office after the funeral.
(b) While walking to the office just at sun-up during the middle of a long, vicious trial, on coming to an intersection, seeing a man standing in the middle of the walk, with no other human being in sight, who three days before said he was going to whip you, on account of your role in the trial.
(c) The woman who drove 20 miles, rushed into your office, and said, “I just heard you died of a heart attack. Thank God it wasn’t true.”
(d) On driving up to a filling station, the owner whom you don’t remember ever having seen before, saying to a child: “Honey, go get your mother; this man talked us out of getting a divorce many years ago. We both want to thank him.”
(e) Clients who send more than their fee, and say you didn’t charge them enough (this doesn’t happen often, but it gives you a thrill when it does).
(f) Thank you letters from distant heirs that you have never met.
(g) People coming to your office as new clients, whom you have previously sued.
I believe that after you have practiced law for 30 years, you too, will know that law is the greatest profession there is.
Sincerely,
Your Father
posted by Mochadora @ 9:56 PM
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