Notes from the New Generation: July Edition

Dear Counsel,

This month I’ve been attempting to challenge myself to give 5% more grace. And you might wonder what on Earth I mean by that. But what I mean is in the interactions I have with clients, colleagues, opposing counsel and even myself to take a moment to step back and simply give 5% more grace. 

Deep down, I think that 5% may have a much heavier weight than we’re thinking.

Just imagine it now, your client who has you on speed dial like their personal assistant, maybe their legal issue is on their mind all day and every day. Oh what I would give to tell them I promise your case is at the top of my mind. But, maybe, just maybe, before the annoyance kicks in I give them 5% more grace. Maybe their consistent follow up is simply because they, humans too, are feeling the nerves of the unclear outcome of their legal battle.

Or maybe it’s your colleague who sent an email that was kind of short. The staff member who missed something you feel you’ve explained over a thousand times. Opposing counsel who is being unnecessarily difficult. Should we match their energy? I say we give them 5%. 

So, I challenge us all this month as new lawyers to give the people in our lives just a tad bit more grace than we might. I’m not saying an endless supply of patience or permission for people to cross boundaries. But instead, maybe we can put ourselves in the shoes of the people we interact with on a daily basis. If we all began to give each other just a little more room to understand each other, we will be unstoppable in the work that we can get done.

The more I practice law, the more I realize how many people we encounter on what may be one of the hardest days, months, or years of their lives. Our clients might be injured, scared, and uncertain. Our colleagues may be carrying workloads we know nothing about. Even opposing counsel, as difficult as it may be to admit sometimes, are human beings navigating their own lives outside of the emails we receive from them.

And then there is the grace we give ourselves.

I am beginning to think that may be the hardest 5% of all.

We replay the conversation. We rethink the argument. We wonder if the email could have been worded differently or if we should have known the answer faster. Especially as young lawyers, there can be this quiet pressure to prove that we belong in every room we enter.

Maybe we can give ourselves 5% more grace there, too.

Five percent more room to learn. Five percent more room to ask the question. Five percent more room to admit that we are still becoming the attorneys we hope to be.

I am not suggesting we lower our standards. I am suggesting that perhaps we leave just a little more room for humanity within them. Because 5% sounds small, but to the person on the receiving end of it, I have a feeling it can feel like much more.

Until next time,

Steph, Esq.