The Values-Driven Lawyer: Why Aligning Your Practice Is The Key To A Successful Career

Do you ever feel unfulfilled by your practice? Do you struggle with the belief that you are inauthentic in your practice? Do you ever suffer from burnout?

So many of us have. Often the problem is that our practice needs to be aligned with our values. We can create tremendous success and genuine personal freedom by aligning our practice with our values. How do we do that?

In this Newsletter, I will explain the problems we encounter when misaligned. I will detail exactly how to determine our professional values and the gifts we enjoy from aligning our practice with our values. Finally, I will outline a  process for creating a practice aligned with your values. 

What happens when we are not aligned with our values?

When we do not align our practices with our values, we suffer some significant consequences, including:

Lack of fulfillment. When we do not align with our values, we often feel unfulfilled and dissatisfied with our work, reducing motivation and satisfaction.

Inauthenticity: If we are not true to our values, we often feel like we are living a double life or not being true to ourselves. That can lead to a sense of inauthenticity and disconnection from our work. I struggled with that a lot in my earlier career.

Ethical Concerns: If our practice is inconsistent with our values, we may make decisions that conflict with our personal or professional values, leading to ethical concerns and a potential loss of credibility.

Difficulty Building Trust: When our actions conflict with our beliefs, we may find it difficult to build trust with clients and other attorneys, which can negatively impact our reputation and ability to succeed. 

Burnout: When we are misaligned, we often experience burnout or other negative health consequences as a result of stress, dissatisfaction, or lack of fulfillment.

That is a pretty daunting list, isn’t it? 

How do we determine our important values?

So, what do we do if we want to align our practice with our professional values? Determining our most essential beliefs is a personal and introspective process that requires introspection and self-awareness. Here are steps we can take to align our most important values:

Identify Priorities: Start by identifying the areas of life that are most important to you, such as family, career, health, spirituality, or community. These priorities guide the identification of values most important to you.

Reflect on Life Experiences: Reflect on past experiences that have been meaningful to you, such as times when you felt proud or fulfilled. Consider what values were reflected in those experiences.

Brainstorm Values: Brainstorm a list of values that you believe are important, such as honesty, compassion, justice, fairness, service, or innovation.

Narrow Down the List: Narrow down the list of values to the ones that resonate most deeply with you. Then, consider which values you are willing to make sacrifices for and which are non-negotiable.

Prioritize Values: Prioritize the values you have identified by ranking them in order of importance. This evaluation will help clarify which values are most important to you and guides your decision-making.

Revisit Regularly: Revisit and reassess your values regularly to ensure that they remain aligned with your priorities and goals.

These are some questions you can ask yourself to aid this process:

What ethical concerns are non-negotiable?

Who do I want to represent?

What kind of person do I want to work with?

How much money do I want and need to make?

What do I want my work schedule to be?

How important is the time I spend with family?

Do I want to work virtually or in an office?

How important are prestige and title?

What size firm do I want to work in?

Or do I want to work for the government or in-house?

How much do I care about independence and autonomy?

Am I entrepreneurial and want to chart my own course?

Am I interested in serving the public?

Is social justice an important value for me?

Where do I want to live and work?

By asking these questions (and others) and taking these steps, we deepen our understanding of our values and determine what is truly important to us.

Why is it so important to align our practice with our values?

Aligning our practice with our critical beliefs and  goals fosters greater personal freedom in these ways::

Fulfillment: When aligned, we have a true sense of purpose in what we do, which helps us enjoy greater satisfaction in our work. 

Authenticity: There is little more important than being true to ourselves. We enjoy greater authenticity and a stronger sense of self. That has been an essential area of growth for me. 

Client relationships: We represent who we want. We strive for the results that fulfill us. As a result, we build stronger relationships with clients because we communicate our values and beliefs more clearly and authentically. We work together toward a common purpose; we are on the same page.

Motivation: We are more excited about our work and driven to succeed. Our motivation skyrockets because we are working towards goals that are aligned with our fundamental beliefs.

Ethics: Ethical quandaries are less likely to arise when we act according to our personal and professional values; when they do, the solution is more transparent.

We enjoy greater personal freedom because this alignment creates fulfillment, authenticity, motivation, better client relationships, and greater success. 

How do we align our practice with our values?

We all want those gifts don’t we? So how do we do it? Here are six steps to create the alignment we all need between our practice and our values:

  1. Determine your critical values. Go through the process we described to identify your most important core beliefs and values.

  2. Evaluate Current Practice: Evaluate your current legal practice and determine areas where values are not aligned. For example, if you crave work-life balance, but are consistently working long hours, you may need to make changes to align your practice with your values better. If independence and autonomy are critical, but you work in a law firm where that is not an option, you should consider an alternative.

  3. Make Changes: Take action to make changes to create synergy between your values and your practice. This may include changes to work habits, such as setting boundaries around working hours or taking regular breaks, or changes to the types of clients or cases taken on. Or, you may need to look for a different firm or type of legal endeavor. 

  4. Communicate Values: Communicate your critical values to your colleagues, clients, and associates. As a result, you will build trust and establish a reputation for ethical behavior when you transparently communicate your beliefs.

  5. Seek Support: Seek support from colleagues, mentors, or coaches to help make changes and stay aligned with values. Support can provide accountability, guidance, and encouragement.

  6. Re-evaluate Regularly: Re-evaluate your values and your practice regularly to ensure that it remains aligned with values. This will identify areas for improvement and ensure that you stay on track with your goals and values.

Conclusion

In conclusion, aligning your law practice with your values is not just an ethical choice; it is also a strategic one. It can help you build stronger client relationships, enhance your reputation, and increase your job satisfaction. But most importantly, it allows you to make a meaningful contribution to the legal profession and society. You become a powerful force for positive change when you stand up for your beliefs and act by your values. So, if you haven't already, take some time to reflect on your values and how they can inform your legal practice. Your clients, colleagues, and conscience will thank you for it

Are you interested in aligning your practice with your values? If so, I can help. You can schedule a courtesy call with me here: https://calendly.com/garymiles-successcoach/one-one-discovery-call

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The Fulfillment Formula: A Recipe for Lawyers Seeking Purpose in Their Work