Throughout the course of this blog, I am going to talk about toughness and return to the topic on a frequent basis. It’s that’s important.
Simply stated, for a lawyer to be successful in a defense-based practice and to stay in the game over the long haul, that lawyer is going to have to become and stay tough, both mentally and physically.
That’s because …
-It takes toughness to stay late and finish what needs to be done when it would be easier to just go home.
-It takes toughness to take hard positions in court, mediations, etc. and stick with them, even when it’s the unpopular thing to do.
-It takes toughness to be firm with opposing counsel and hold your ground when there are difficulties and dissonace that arise in discovery.
-It takes toughness to make the difficult telephone call to the client to relate disappointing news.
-It takes toughness to do the work to be prepared for depositions, mediations, and trial.
-It takes toughness to get up early, work hard all day, and then work late into the night during trial days when you are so, so tired.
-It takes toughness to get up in front of a trial court judge or very hot appellate bench and make compelling arguments when the chips are down.
-It takes toughness to not only do the legal work expected of you by your clients and your firm, but also find the time to meaningfully market your practice.
-It takes toughness to perform at the levels you need to day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. The work and the expectations and the obligation to achieve and perform are never ending. It is the essence of the infinite game.
As you start your career and go along, it’s fundamentally important to recognize the need for toughness and develop strategies, habits, and routines that get and keep you tough and keep you going (I’m going to talk a lot about that). Because you have to keep going. Only the tough survive in litigation and defense-based practice; that’s the truth.
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