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9 Solo [i] (2002-2003)

handle is hein.journals/sololoi9 and id is 1 raw text is: Fall 2002

BH Lafi Rm Mey
By Larry Ramirez

Ever hear the expression
I've got to get a life?
Being a lawyer often pre-
sents conflicting lifestyle
choices. It's ingrained in us
that success means long
hours at the office, but that
runs counter to the idea that
being happy means spend-
ing time with family and
friends.
Any married lawyer has
felt the pressures of work
versus family. After 25
Tailor Your Practice
Success on Your Terms:
A Work/Life Survey
Time Off for Fun
A Woman's Question:
When to Have Babies?

years of practice-18 years
with a firm and seven as a
solo practitioner-I know
the guilt and anxiety of
missing family outings, soc-
cer games, and vacations
because of conflicts with my
work schedule. I truly regret
those missed opportunities
and the fact that I lost out on
a significant part of my two
sons' early years. Frankly, in
hindsight, my professional
success does not outweigh
my sense of loss. I can't go
back and change the past,
and for that I have only
myself to blame.
Fortunately, I finally real-
ized what I was missing, but
not until my oldest was 13
and my youngest was 10. I
came to understand that I
did, indeed, have choices,
and that my professional life
did not have to control my
personal life.
In 1995 I faced the disso-
lution of the firm where I

had practiced for 15 years.
I had to choose: Continue
to work in a firm or go
solo. There's a certain
security with a firm, and
the prospect of being sole-
ly responsible for such
things as overhead was not
all that attractive. But the
flexibility and indepen-

(continued inside)

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