Recently in Shared Values Category

I believe that the truly successful, satisfied lawyers are those who give back some of what they take from this world, their community and their neighborhood. The best role model a lawyer can be is to teach that to others. And I believe that you friends, neighbors, and community watch what you do. And if you do it right they flock to your door.

I find lawyers stretch themselves so thin because of many charitable commmitments or service organizations they belong to until there is simply not enough time to make it all happen and then what they contribute looks insincere or not complete.

Lets others help you to help others. Provide each staff person with 3 hours per month to do charitable acts of kindness. Let each staff person make a recommendation how they wish to commit their time. (Make sure it is truly a charitable organization or concept). Set the schedule. Have the staff come back and let everyone know what they were doing. And let your staff know that they are part of someone else's efforts because you need to have them pick up the slack while the person is out. Trust me you will not miss three hours of staff time per month. And what you will gain is teaching others to help others.

And if you want to really make your firm feel good, build a wall of charitable acts of kindness by putting the hours each year and the organization your firm contributed to. It makes everyone feel proud.

Dad was an Ohio State Highway Patrolman. To move from one post to another would require a group of patrolman to show up to the house, help load up the household goods, dogs, cats, etc. onto a rental truck. Dad would then drive the truck with family following to the new house. At that house would be the troopers from the new post who would cheerfully unload everything.

We arrived at a new post with the entire family and animal collection and Dad sent us three girls down to the basement with all the animals and told to stay out of trouble. After some slow boring hours, we suddenly saw two big strong troopers start down the basement steps with the washing machine. Trooper # 1 was coming backwards supporting the weight of the machine and Trooper # 2 was coming forward to help guide and hold up the other end.

At that moment in time, when they were at the point of no return, for some strange reason our pet skunk, Pepi Le' Peu, got away from us and sauntered over to the stairs. Trooper # 1 screamed and yelled skunk and started pushing forward to get out of the basement. Trooper # 2 thought he was yelling stuck' and pushed downward to get the machine down the steps. For a few glorious minutes we three sisters hysterically watched while our big burly troopers pushed and shoved trying to move an inanimate object out of fear.

My dad taught me many things but one of my favorite lessons was the skunk lesson. Sooner or later when there is no solution someone has to simply let go and let the other have their way and let the chips fall where they may. It is better to be skunked than stuck in life.