Last year, my 6-year-old had a school play. I summoned the courage to ask the Big Law partners for permission to attend. One gave me a lecture about how he worked while his wife was giving birth and another responded, okay, and then promptly removed me from the deal I was working on. For years I fought to find a way to be a Big Law employee while prioritizing my family. The idea of growing older and servicing a senior partner's clients, having annual reviews by a Compensation Committee, and asking permission to attend my child's school play made me sick. I wanted my own clients and my own practice. But I was terrified. I never had to generate business in BigLaw and was actively encouraged to focus only on servicing current clients. My wife, Shai, encouraged us to take the leap. Those first couple weeks I could barely sleep. I put my head on my pillow and calculated my financial runway, my children's tuition, and how I could beg my way back into Big Law when I failed. I paced my office after waking with nightmares of late mortgage payments, and student loans accruing default interest. I checked my bank account balance obsessively. Within days of leaving my old firm, clients started calling. I couldn’t believe it. I closed deals for them, and they sent me their friends. In the last 8 months, I far exceeded my previous (already great) salary. I am surrounded by clients who also put their family first and similarly abhor performance reviews and asking a boss to see their kid’s play. Last week, my son had a school play. I did not ask anyone for permission to attend and was not punished for attending. I sat in the auditorium watching him. At one point he found me, his eyes locked with mine and a huge smile spread across his face. From now on, showing up for him will be my decision.
@Eli_Albrecht Man I'm so happy for you 👑 this is goals 🙏
@Eli_Albrecht Absolutely love this, Eli! You’re a good man and you deserve a happy home. Glad you made the right decision!
@Eli_Albrecht That’s why I always encourage my employees to attend all of their kids events. Two hours will make no difference for me, but it will make all the difference to the parent and a kid. And I get to keep great people. Win-win
@Eli_Albrecht Make a line or a line is made for you.
@Eli_Albrecht What a great story! Continued success in career and family!
@Eli_Albrecht Kudos to the wife for giving you the nudge to make the leap!
@Eli_Albrecht I admire your courage and love your story. Send me a DM, I might have some clients to refer. Also, AI will have a profound impact on law. None of it is good for the big firms. You are on the right side of that revolution.