What Happened When I Realized I Wasn’t Just Any Old Lawyer

For the longest time I thought I was just a lawyer. Then I came to realize that I was something more than that.

At first I saw only the things that others did better than I. Not a brilliant cross-examiner, I never dazzled in the courtroom. Yes, I could run a decent trial, but it took an inordinate amount of work– none of it came naturally. “What use am I as a lawyer?”, I would ask myself, morosely.

But as time went on I came to realize that I drafted pleadings and agreements better than anyone else I knew, that my appellate work was instinctive, and that I quickly got a handle on the root problems of my business and estate clients. I had a knack for solving title and contract problems, and was typically the guy at settlement meetings who found the way out of the box. In other words, I began to see that I possessed inherent analytic and resolution skills which came naturally to me, and not necessarily to everyone else.

All of these attributes were part of my fiber– talents which were present long before I went to law school. But with legal training, these skills became honed and more useful in solving client problems.

In so many words, when I began to discover why I was put on this planet, and how my legal training had enhanced that, I started to become uniquely useful to my clients. Was I the best lawyer in the world? Of course not. For some things I may have been “just OK”, but for certain tasks and situations, I was as good as it got.

I don’t say this to crow, but to make the point that each of us have unique giftings which, once identified and applied, make us the very best person for certain situations.

For any professional, there are two things you need to do to put you at the top of your game. First, stop doing the things where you are, at most, ordinary. Second, focus on those practice areas where you are uniquely gifted, and make them the center of your professional endeavours. And then perfect them.

The result? You will practice more effectively, more safely, more enjoyably, and more profitably. Who could ask for more?