Work-life balance is increasingly an issue for burned-out lawyers of both genders, parents in particular. Law students interviewing at firms increasingly ask whether they’ll have a life once they have a job. Our roundup keeps track of this hot topic for you.
“During my residency I started thinking I wanted to get into health care policy, so I decided to do a law degree,” Onyejekwe said. “Eventually I’d like to get into that.”
For now, though, he’s more than happy to plow through filings in patent suits, many of which have to do with medical devices that he’s familiar with. Emergency rooms and law firms also have a few other things in common.
“The hours are very similar in terms of the toll that it takes � I’ve had to do all-night work at Weil,” Onyejekwe said.
“The diligence and real-time decision-making that happens at a law firm is particularly like an emergency room,” he added.
But there’s more to Onyejekwe’s life than just being a doctor and a lawyer. He was born to Nigerian immigrant parents who are both retired from university careers. He’s also a flight surgeon in the Air Force Reserve, and has flown to Germany on occasion to aid the wounded U.S. soldiers who are brought there from Iraq.
“That’s the one thing I can contribute to the war effort,” Onyejekwe said. “I don’t really know how to do that much else.”
Indeed, not that much else.
� Zusha Elinson
