A Spirited Practice: Combining Law With Religion Is Work — but Worth It
Jenny B. Davis has this report in the Texas Lawyer:
And therein lies the challenge. Lawyers who integrate their belief system into their legal life say it’s the most fulfilling way to practice. But they all agree it isn’t easy . . .
Fort Worth, Texas, litigator Thomas S. Brandon Jr. agrees. “It’s not easy, because there are all kinds of pressures on you to do what everybody else does, but you have this internal compass guiding you to want to do the right thing, and sometimes that can be a disadvantage, especially in litigation.”
Brandon has been examining and questioning issues of his Christianity and the practice of law since he made a commitment to God as a young lawyer in the early 1970s.
“For me it was a switch from, ‘I want to be making lots and lots of money,’ to ‘I want to serve God,’ and I think about that every day,” he says.
He also participated in organized discussions of Christianity and law, through his membership in the Virginia-based Christian Legal Society. For more than 20 years he has attended the CLS regional conference in Salado, Texas, where he joins like-minded lawyers in asking tough questions of their faith and exploring seemingly bottomless issues, such as how to practice in a Christian manner yet provide zealous representation, he says . . .
One Comment
Good for Mr. Brandon. How I wish the lawyers I work with followed his example. In my job as director of HR, I work with many fine lawyers from Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Certainly, I want to win, but avoiding defeat at all costs is too high of a price to pay due to the 360 nature of life. The connection between spiritually and business success is obvious to those who want to scratch beneath the surface. In my new HR book, Wingtips with Spurs, the longest chapter in the book is devoted to the spirit and the successful career. It also covers the connectiveness of our actions and the important of spiritual wisdom. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR http://www.michaellgooch.com