Happy Holidays. I will take Christmas off. But lawyers' cases and our clients are never far from our thoughts, are they? Maybe that is what it means to be a professional. We picked a tough but rewarding way to keep body and soul together. But last week I read a poem by William Blackstone from the 1700s, "The Lawyer's Farewell to His Muse," in which he wrote about the hard part of being a lawyer:
Then welcome business, welcome strife
Welcome the cares, the thorns of life
The visage wan, the pore-blind sight
The toil by day, the lamp at night
The tedious forms, the solemn prate
The pert dispute, the dull debate
The drowsy bench the babbling Hall
For thee, fair Justice welcome all!
But for hard truths, there are always saving graces; Blackstone ends his poem with one, when our race is over:
Untainted by the guilty bribe,
Uncursed amid the harpy tribe;
No orphan's cry to wound my ear
My honour, and my conscience clear;
Thus may I calmly meet my end
Thus to the grave in peace descend.
Lawyers’ lives are twisted together like a pretzel with what we do in our work. Take a minute to reflect on this truth, and enjoy the holiday.
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