My 9-year-old son plays baseball in the Fairmount Sports Association League for 7-9-year-old boys. Last year he was on a team that seemed destined for a championship that is, until the team’s star shortstop left for summer vacation and the team lost in the first round of the playoffs. Disappointed by the dashed hopes of last season, my son began this season with a thirst for a championship. Initially, we were disappointed when our son was selected by another team. We did not know at the time that we were embarking on an adventure that would culminate in victory. However, it was in the winning that the team (broadly defined to include the players, parents and coaches) learned valuable life lessons that will transcend the three-month Little League season and hopefully leave a long-lasting impression on those who were there to witness it.
While these are lessons learned in the context of Little League baseball, they, of course, are widely applicable to almost any facet of life and certainly applicable to the practice of law. In the fast-paced and ever-changing legal landscape, it is useful to reflect on the importance of these core principles and consider whether each one of us is working every day to create a workplace moored with these values in mind. It certainly has been useful, and timely, for me to reflect upon these core principles soon after I embarked on a new journey of my own, joining a new law firm in April of this year.
