Recently I’ve spent time with several groups of happy big-firm partners. They talk about their fulfilling work, grateful clients, and collaborative colleagues. They say they can’t wait to start their next project. Mostly, they smile. Several I’ve known for years: I can’t help but notice how relaxed—and energized—they appear. Is it something in the water? Have the new meds kicked in? Am I imagining things? No. I’m meeting lawyers who have started second careers.
I’ve seen them on campus at Harvard, where they’re involved in a remarkable new leadership program, and I’ve seen them at the International Senior Lawyers Project, a splendid decade-old effort aimed at sending lawyers abroad on a variety of volunteer public service missions. (Full disclosure: Until a month ago, my wife was ISLP’s executive director. Given the inherent conflicts, I never wrote about its work. What I address here is otherwise publicly available.)
