Canadian Lawyer

16 A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m Pursue justice, not riches. Practis- ing law is about the pursuit of justice. Don't think of the law as a route to riches. If you do pursue money, you'll likely fail in the pursuit, so you might as well be high-minded, if only by default. It's less and less true that a law degree leads to a lucrative career, although the myth persists. A story in The New York Times this past June noted, "While demand for other white-collar jobs has grown substantially since the start of the recession, law firms and corpora- tions are finding they can make do with far fewer in-house lawyers than before, squeezing those just starting their careers." The article described "the atavistic rage among those who went to law school seeking the upper-middle- class status and security often enjoyed by earlier generations. . . ." And if you are one of the few who succeeds in get- ting on the wealth track, you will be subject to the billable hour and many other horrible tyrannies. Is it worth it? What will it profit you if you gain the whole world, or at least a BMW 7 Series sedan, and forfeit your soul? Don't work too hard. Eighteen-hun- dred billable hours a year. That's the famous benchmark for legal practice, and many lawyers claim to exceed this number, sometimes (they allege) by hundreds of hours. To bill 1,800 hours a year, you have to work 50 or more hours a week (not every hour is billable — when do you go to the bathroom?). Those who claim to work this hard are either being dishonest or are leading a truly miserable life. Save in occa- sional, exceptional circumstances, no one should work more than 40 hours a week. When are you going to work on your model railroad or make pancakes for the kids? A New York lawyer once told me about something called the "Wall Street Boomerang," a term used to describe working all night, taking a cab home at 6 a.m., keeping the cab waiting while lmost all Canadian law students intend to practise law when they get out of law school. It's different in some other jurisdictions. In Europe, for example, a law degree often leads to government service, or a business career, or a job in journalism. Europeans think the study of the law develops analyti- cal skills that can be put to general use. But in Canada a law faculty is considered a trade school and its denizens single-mindedly look for- ward to setting up legal shop as soon as possible. They are anxious to graduate with everything they need to begin practising. One of the things they require but may not have is a moral lodestar. If you are entering the practice of law you should believe — you need to believe — in some guiding principles. Without them you're more likely to mess up your life and career. L E G A L E T H I C S O P I N I O N @philipslayton DUSHAN MILIC Guiding principles Law students need to decide for themselves what moral code to follow as they enter the profession. By Philip Slayton CIVILIZATION AND PEACE DEPEND ON APPROPRIATE DEFERENCE TO PROPERLY CONSTITUTED AUTHORITY, BUT DON'T TAKE IT TOO FAR. DON'T JOIN THE OLD BOYS CLUB. A

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