Be a joyful lawyer
Jim Vickaryous
Ode To Joy! Have joy in your heart, have joy for life, make joy for others. Joyfulness is a feeling of purpose that is carried throughout daily activities, it could be reading a statute, writing a legal note, or meeting with a new client. I often think of it as an emotional defense that protects us from life’s disappointments. But what is the practice of being a joyful lawyer?
To be a joyful lawyer is to focus on the positives of our profession and uphold a sense of happiness. I know when I see a joyful lawyer. They have wide smiles and glowing energy. It’s an aura that is as much internal as it is external.
To have joy in your heart, joy for life, and joy for others, you must be able to identify a successful approach for yourself. A first step is to live with the intent and aim to be joyous. In my experience, it is the lawyers who consistently reflect on their actions and maintain their target toward joy that are naturally more inclined to feel joyful. The practice of being joyful is the only way to encounter happiness.
In the practice of law, it can often appear as if others are constant obstacles, preventing us from succeeding and making considerable progress, but the joyful lawyer knows the power to succeed and make progress resides within themselves. Even if others are continually working against them, the joyful lawyer still gives honor and respect. To be a joyful lawyer, you must willingly accept others, even if their path is different from yours.
Always be open to joy offered by others. I remember walking to the courthouse for a morning hearing. My heart was not joyful, as I was worried about what argument I should make, what the opposing lawyer would argue, how the judge would rule, and what my client would say after the ruling. I walked the entire way from my office to the courthouse looking at the sidewalk, caught up in worry. Stopping at an intersection, a joyful female voice said to me, “What a beautiful morning. Look at that gorgeous sky.” Startled by a stranger’s voice on a street corner, I looked up to see her smiling and pointing up with her finger. I looked up and had to agree with her. It was a gorgeous morning. In my bundle of legal worries, I had not looked up to the sky once on my courthouse walk. I thanked her and appreciated the joy she had passed on to me as I walked into the courthouse with a smile on my face.
To bring joy to others and the world around you, you must first be happy with yourself. That means you’re as accepting with yourself as you are with others. Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes, rather take them as learning experiences. Accepting that you are human, and imperfect will help you feel joyful and enable you to share joy with others.
At the heart of being a joyful lawyer is the sincere desire to feel positive. It’s a choice, you choose to make joy, to purposefully get joy out of your practice. Being a joyful lawyer is living your life driven by the pursuit of happiness. Practice joyful intent with each action, with each thought, and with each word. Let’s all resolve to be joyful lawyers.
Jim Vickaryous is the managing partner of the Vickaryous Law Firm in Lake Mary and represents the 18th Circuit on The Florida Bar Board of Governors.
