MyNextSeason

Leaving the Law

One of the things I tell people is law school and practicing law are great for teaching you how to be a lawyer and how to help clients. But there’s no training whatsoever for what else to do, or how to go about not being a lawyer anymore. It’s kind of scary. I had spent a fair amount of time on my own thinking about retiring. I think almost every lawyer goes through that, it’s just something that’s on your mind. Am I going to do this for the rest of my life, or is there something else that comes after?

Clean Break Vs. Phasing Out

I was pretty adamant— when it came to being a lawyer— I was in or out. For somebody else, it might be perfectly appropriate to continue practicing in a reduced manner. I’m the type that if I slowed down rather than fully stopped, I’d still work too much. It would still have all my attention and take away from the other things that I wanted to do.

Unexpected Euphoria

Right after I retired, something happened that I hadn’t counted on. I began to instantly feel euphoric and it was very unexpected. I wasn’t euphoric because I finally got out of jail or something like that… I loved my job and my firm. But all of a sudden, endorphins were released in a humongous magnitude inside my brain and suddenly everything could wait until tomorrow. That lasted about a month and once that started to wane, I sat down to do the things I wanted to do, which has turned out to be writing books.

A Life-long ‘What if’

I’ve always wanted to write. It just took an entire law career for me to see if I could really do it, or if it was a pipe dream. I find it very cool. I’ve now written five books, including my memoir and four fiction novels. Writing my memoir first was very helpful. It allowed me to pause, take a breath and realize how I got to where I was. Once I got that off my chest, I was ready to dive into fiction.  I had a lot of moments of “Are you out of your mind? You’ve never written fiction before!” But I powered through and I really enjoy the main character I’ve created. I have a great book designer and I have a great editor. I enjoy all the different parts of it. And I’m a lot better at it now!

Pursuing Multiple Passions

Sliding into retirement, I was already starting to do some of the things I was hoping to do. I was, and still am, on the Audit Committee for Habitat for Humanity in Denver. I love that, especially since I’m not really able to get up on a ladder anymore. I also continue to pursue sports photography, which was a rewarding creative outlet for me while practicing law. (I think people wondered if I was a sports photographer who tried cases or a lawyer who took pictures.) Hopefully I have a few years left sitting cross legged courtside. The University of Denver has given me some wonderful opportunities on that front in the past few years, including covering a nationally ranked women’s gymnastics program, a sport I’ve never photographed before.

The Benefit of Guidance…

Even though I had a plan for my retirement, I was so glad to have a MyNextSeason advisor as a thought partner. He helped me stop focusing on retiring from the law and instead focus on retiring to something else. It turns out it’s very easy to not be a lawyer anymore. You just stop. The second part is harder. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

…and the Challenge of Passing it Along

After my memoir came out, I was invited to speak on career pivot podcasts as if I had some actual expertise in it. I don’t have any specific advice other than it’s doable. It is certainly something that can be scary but, for me, planning helped manage the scariness. There isn’t a cookie cutter answer. I only say that I am a living example that there isn’t just one thing to do in life and be satisfied.

A New Sense of Self and Happiness

People ask who you are at a cocktail party, and you say I’m a lawyer. But that’s not really who you are. That’s what you do. I have a better idea now of who I am. I don’t have lawyer war stories anymore, but I’m OK with that. I’m not necessarily in the exact place that I planned out, but about 95% of what I had thought would happen, happened. I’m pretty happy. I smile a lot. Lawyers don’t always smile a lot, but I do now.

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