Saturday is a work day and other trial lawyer facts

Am trying to show empathy to our new associate who has been working long hours. Encourage him to make sure to take a day off. During firm meeting raise the issue of not working too much . Then Stritmatter crashes the party.

Strit: I’m going to derail this conversation. My father and I worked 7 days a week. That’s how I was raised. Work comes first. If you want to be a great lawyer you have to work a lot.

Kessler: I’m the same. I love what I do and work every day. I love it. It doesn’t seem like work to me. It’s what I do.

Ed: I used to work a lot. In one job - the senior partner went around the office Saturday morning to make sure we were all there. Now I’m in the school of - this is your life and you have to live it too. Work can’t be everything. Go skiing.

Me: Okay - well great. So much for trying to help our young lawyers with their questions about work-life balance. I am the worst example of working too much. They all know I work all the time because the little time stamps on email, teams and texts always out me. Am just like Strit and Kessler except 15 years younger.

Young Lawyer 1: I’m putting in the long hours because I have a lot to learn. This is what I signed up for. Smile glued to face.

Young Lawyer 2: Ditto. Fake smiling also.

And so fails my attempt to stave off covid related depression of our lawyers from having nothing to do other than constantly work .

…

Today is Saturday. Wake up in the mountains. We are in between snowfall. The roads are fairly clear. Grab a little to eat. Nala and I go for a run. Clean up. This involves giving her a shower since everything outside is frozen. She enjoys it. By 11:30 am at the kitchen counter on a stool. Listening to Anita Baker. Have moved Nala’s bed next to me on the rug. She zonks out. Lisa has drafted a 32 page response to the City’s motion to dismiss parts of our large civil rights case. Andrew went over it. Time for me to edit. Takes a few hours. It would’ve have taken two days if I’d been tasked with writing it from scratch. Thankful for Lisa. In between facetime with Nina and Noelle. Talk to my sister Jennifer. Review a new med neg referral. Text my brother Greg and sister in law Laurie who are staying at my other cabin next door. Draft directions on another case. Approve cotter gutter repair on Seattle house - my gosh it is hideously expensive. Make some tofu and eat it in a salad with a can of lentil soup. Lisa has gone thru my edits and has more comments. Call Alysha. Look up case. Respond to Lisa. Begin to go through other piled up email. Decide to finish it tomorrow. It is 7:00 pm. Just like that.

Photo: cabin running route