Good Stewardship And Finding Nirvana In The Practice Of Law

Chuck Newton of The Spare Room Tycoon provided me with this guest post.

Years ago I had an enlightened moment – an epiphany if you will – in which I was overcome with the power to make things better in my life. It was frightful to me on the one hand because the new world was unknown. It was joyful on the other hand because I knew the old way was not working for me or my family and change had to be made. I had simply reached the point where the devil I did not know seemed maybe better than the devil that I did know. I was simply sick and tired of working, of not seeing my family, of commuting hours upon hours, and doing it all to support not me and those I hold dear, but the landlords, the staff and the infrastructure. I was making much, but keeping very little, including the promises to my children, friends and colleagues.

Call it burnout, but to tell you the truth I was just plum worn out. So, in well fell swoop I closed the offices, jettisoned all of the staff and lawyers, stored the files, got rid of most office possessions, took my many diplomas and certificates off the wall, and moved home to await my demise.

But, you know what? A funny thing happened. I did not experience the seven lodges of hell I was expecting. Maybe it is because I left behind the World of the gluttons, the lustful, the hoarders, the wrathful, the sullen, the heretics, the panderers, and the seducers that I now know tend to manifest themselves in the old business-for-business-sake environment.

At once I was at peace. I had time. I had enough money. I felt a true sense of nirvana. And, to describe it I called it the Third Wave. Some people call it downshifting. Grant Griffiths is more practical in his terms and just calls it the Home Office Lawyer or the connected lawyer. For me it was my benediction.

Whatever you call it, the more I write about it, talk about it and preach about it, the more lawyers I find that have done and have experienced the same thing. They tend to congregate on our blogs looking for affirmation…looking of a kindred spirit. And also, I find more lawyers that are in a state of denial. They blame the practice of law and they ought not. They fight the realization that the World is changing rapidly and they just cannot seem to let go of their mental image of the lawyer behind a desk, with a secretary, in a firm in a high rise tower. It is the prestige for which they are looking that is killing their enthusiasm.

If you believe that we must all be good stewards (and I am talking more in a secular sense), then you have to come to the realization that what most of you are doing is not good. You have got to leave behind your traditional law office possession because they are costly, they are distracting, they are time consuming (in fact they are all consuming), and you need to follow us into the virtual world, the home office world – the Third Wave of lawyering.

Stewardship, after all, represents the power to shape and mold our understanding of our lives and the way in which we live. As good stewards it is your calling to safeguard material and human resources and using them responsibly. You owe it to the World to give joyful appreciation for the beauty and wonder of things, and to do everything that can be done to enhance this gift and make life flourish. And, you owe it to yourself to help develop this profession of ours through noble human effort and through human collaboration that truly matters.

How can anyone do this when they are commuting every day; supporting staffing and infrastructure that has no goal or objective but to increase that staffing and infrastructure; spending day and night, weekday and weekend, in the office to pay for these things; ignoring the needs of one's family and friends; and, by sitting in an office tower, usually in an office higher than ones true position in life?

It is truly madness.

So, when you are comparing devils like I was, let me just say that the devil is in the details. Your home office has no such details. Get one computer, one scanner, one printer, a desk or a table, a chair, a broadband connection, a phone, and move home. With the possible exception of your desk, all of this will fit in your car and will take one trip. Be a good steward and come home. Experience the Third Wave of lawyering.

You just might find nirvana.

Comments

[John]

You can offer practically any kind of service using the internet. You just have to make sure there is a market for it and that you can actually fulfill job orders. Some of the most common internet jobs involve clerical jobs such data entry, performing tasks as a virtual assistant, web development, word processing, telemarketing, book keeping and others. You can work as a copy writer, be a sales representative or even become a pro-blogger. You can set up a business that targets clients in your own town or people halfway around the globe.

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[Christopher Johnston]

Great post Chuck. I have been reading your blog and that of others and I've been considering a business designed to bring all the home office lawyers together on the Internet. I'd like to talk to you about it. Check out my blog and send me an email so we can discuss it further.