Notes from the New Generation
Dear Counsel,
Shortly after I was sworn in as an attorney, there was an interaction I will never forget. I was on a phone call with one of our co-counsel, someone I’ve worked with for years. In my eyes, this attorney is a legal guru, the kind of person you go to for answers to complicated questions, and someone I’ve looked up to as a mentor for many years.
He asked me a question about the way we should finalize the settlement of a case we had been working on. My immediate thought was: Why is he asking me? Why doesn’t he ask the attorney?
…and then it hit me: Oh. I am the attorney.
I think about this specific moment a lot, and honestly I poke fun at myself with my colleagues and our support staff when I talk about it. But when I think about it, it was a vital moment in my fresh career as an attorney, not because I suddenly had all the answers to every question asked, but because I realized I was now expected to start finding them.
The expectation all of a sudden shifted. Instead of me deferring to the expertise of an attorney (when I secretly thought I already knew the answer), I was now able to rely on my own expertise. That responsibility itself can be daunting.
But here’s the catch: that quiet pressure of “knowing everything” in front of your support staff and even your superiors can feel heavy. You’re expected to respond with accuracy even if you don’t feel ready for it, and quite honestly, in this profession, the title comes before confidence.
Naturally, some growing pains may occur as a result of your new, fancy title.
Truthfully, confidence doesn’t magically occur overnight. But it’s the result of your dedication to our profession. I once heard that to become a “master of your trade,” you need at least 10,000 hours of practice. Whether or not the number is exact, the idea itself holds true. The growth is subtle, and it’s one of those things that occurs invisibly when you begin to pause less, second-guess less, and respond with more decisiveness.
The shift in mindset doesn’t mean you instantly drink an elixir of knowledge and become omnipotent. But something does change about you, and it’s the ability to stay calm in situations where you don’t instantly know the answer. Your resourcefulness increases as well as the ability to figure out your situation and follow through with it.
So, I think about that funny moment often and I recognize it for the moment where I stepped into my role, maybe not fully ready, but at least trusting myself enough to be able to do it.
To you, my fellow counsel, if you’re waiting for that big moment where everything finally clicks and you feel ready for this job, it’s probably not coming.
It will be something small, almost insignificant.
A question you didn’t expect. A pause. Then realization that the answer is supposed to come from you, the attorney.
Eventually, without even noticing, it does.
Until next time,
Steph, Esq.
