One of the subjects that comes up most often in my conversations with current and former students is the challenge of "work-life balance." Students understand, it appears, and worry that, the practice of law -- at least, in the sectors of the profession where they expect to practice -- is increasingly in tension with the project of constructing a balanced, integrated, happy life. When students express their worries in this regard, what should / can I say?
I had to confront this question, again, this weekend, reading Sunday's Washington Post, in which two relevant and interesting pieces appeared: First, this article, "Driven to Extremes," about the increasing number of people in the D.C. area who are commuting more than four hours a day -- drawn by "cheaper housing and better pay", but "at what price?"; and this one, "Breaking Free of Suburbia's Stranglehold," about some families who have "simplif[ied] [their] lifestyles in quest for meaning that constant hustle obscured."
I hope that our graduating students will read and reflect on these two pieces. Sure, many of these talented and blessed late-20-somethings will go live, without spouses, SOs, or children, in hip urban neighborhoods in lively and interesting cities (and bill several hundred hours each month), and so might not -- at least, not yet -- face the kind of trade-offs and challenges described in these articles. But, before too long, many (most?) will. My advice? For what it's worth: Start thinking now about cultivating a life that is not going to put you on a hard-to-exit trajectory toward four-hour commutes, strained marriages, drive-by parenting, and a dis-integrated life. (Easier said than done, I know.) A question: How could the law schools help?
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