I was in court the other day when I saw a lawyer who had gone to my high school waiting for things to be called into session. At about the same moment, we both said to each other something like, "Are you still doing this?" We laughed, and let on that old habits are hard to break. My friend also noted that when he was sworn in, he was amazed how many "old" lawyers came to court every Monday for short calendar. Perhaps there was a message in that.
I was reminded of this when I read that some commentators are saying that the problem with the job market for young (and new) lawyers is that the baby boomers refuse to retire. That is probably true, but I am not sure it is a matter of choice. My friend and I noted that our classmates who went into public service (police, fire, teaching) were all now retired, with neat defined-benefit pensions. Our colleagues who went into the trades are riding motorcycles and fishing all day. We knuckleheads who chose the college track were still dragging into court on Monday (and Tuesday, and Wednesday…) mornings, with no end in sight.
