My Last Blog
“Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart” - Myla Kabat-Zinn
So, my last blog. Thank you to those of you, a surprisingly large number, who have expressed disappointment that there is only blog left. To those of you who suggested I write a book, you are both sadists and masochists; sadists due to the pain writing a book would inflict on me and masochists due to the pain reading an entire book of mine would inflict on you!
Slightly over a year ago, I didn’t have any firm views about what it might be like to write a blog. I had thought about starting one for a while. I did not want to write case reviews or comments on current events in the legal profession. There are many people (particularly law firms) doing that. Law can be a difficult profession and I wanted to try to encourage others in the profession.
I realised quite quickly that the best way to encourage others was to be honest about my own journey in the law, honest about my path and my priorities, honest about the uncertainty and fear I have felt at times and honest about the things I have appreciated and not appreciated so much in the profession. That was a little bit scary at first but it seems to have resonated with many of you, so it was worth the apprehension.
What have I learnt from my blog?
Try new things. Provided I have the time and inclination, I hope to be much quicker to try doing something different. The fact that I wasn’t trying to achieve any particular goal with the blog was a bit unusual for me. The casualness and openness of the blog, although intentional, was also a bit different for me and, from the comments I have received, a bit different for the legal profession. I am a pretty private person and I did take a few deep breaths when I sent some of my thoughts out into the web. However, it quickly became clear that what people appreciated was the openness and honesty. I guess it is not surprising that appealed to readers, given we are in a profession of over achievers, who unfortunately often are too fearful to tell a colleague what really might be going on. Now I am endeavouring to be more open and honest in my real life interactions with others, not just the online ones.
Social media does reach an audience. This will be completely obvious to most people, except the fellow dinosaurs. I was surprised by the number of people who read a blog or who said they had read a blog. I’m not surprised some people might say they have read a blog but not have done so; I’m surprised they knew the blog existed in order to make that comment! I now think that if you want to reach a large audience, social media is the way to go and that it is possible to genuinely connect with people online. Before I did the blog, I was very skeptical about that. Of course, it is also possible to put a completely false or whacky comment or persona out there so I am still pretty discerning about what I read.
It helped that I wasn’t looking to achieve anything in particular. I don’t think I have received an instruction over the last year because I wrote the blog, certainly not that I know about. But I do feel a connection with more people, including those I regularly see. As my friend, Alan Sorrell, said to me when he heard the blog was about to end: “Too often we learn most about people at their funeral”.
Most of you are lovely people, or at least give a very good impression of being so! If it hasn’t been clear to your before now, I am a bit of a cynic. I often expect the worst. But I was very pleasantly surprised; surprised by how much I enjoyed the writing and by the how well the blogs were received. People made lovely comments, either online or to me directly. People from overseas that I have never met before said lovely things about my writing (you know who you are and thank you!). It may have helped that there was no ability to post comments on the article so anyone with something negative to say probably wouldn’t bother going to the trouble of a specific communication for that purpose. But I was genuinely surprised and encouraged by the warmth of the response to each blog. I now see that social media can have a positive as well as a negative side and am slightly less cynical about the entire legal profession!
So, many people have asked what’s next for me? I have signed up for another half marathon. I’ll be trying to do more of my training in the lower heart rate zones this time.
My work as a barrister goes on. You may know that the work I enjoy most is writing opinions and helping solicitors with aspects of the law or strategy, including the strategy on resolving a dispute without going to Court. If you or your clients would like an opinion or second opinion, please get in touch.
I am the chairperson of the Board of the Auckland Community Law Centre. The solicitors at the Centre do a fantastic job of providing advice to people who cannot afford to see a regular solicitor. It is a privilege to be a part of the ACLC’s work.
I am also hoping to replace some of the online connection with real life connection. I started the blog with the story of Emily. Recently I saw that Emily has a significant promotion in her firm. A very lucky firm it is. If you are wondering about your way in the law, you could consult a professional, perhaps a career coach or psychologist. I have seen both at different times and found them hugely helpful.
If you are an Emily (or Ed) wondering about what your next move might be and think it might help to have a coffee or lunch with someone who can act as an impartial sounding board, someone who has some knowledge of how the profession operates, please feel free to get in touch. I’m happy to shout you a coffee or a lunch if you are in Auckland and offer a listening ear. If you are out of Auckland, the coffee or lunch will need to be a telephone call.
I owe a huge thank you to Olivia Peterson, OP Creative. Olivia created my website, for which I receive a lot of compliments that actually belong to Olivia. Every time I have done a blog, Olivia has turned my 3 or 4 pages of A4 typing into an appealing webpage with great photos and style. I could not have done the blog without Olivia and I cannot recommend her highly enough.
And a huge thanks to you all for being part of my blog journey.