“BAS” – Battered Attorney Syndrome
A few months after I became a legal recruiter in Washington, D.C., in early-2004, I wrote an article based on a tongue-in-cheek phrase some of my former colleagues and I used: “Battered Attorney Syndrome.” The article was published in the Legal Times in November 2004 and has sort of taken on a life of its own over the past few years.
Just yesterday, in fact, I cold called a candidate at a large firm in D.C. and this person said, “I recognize your name – did you write that ‘Battered Attorney Syndrome’ article? Somebody just forwarded it to me.” It was quite surreal, but it really made my day that this this article is still being read several years later.
This article resonated with so many associates (and partners) because almost every one us has at one time or another felt inferior, alone, stupid, incapable of possibly exceeding expectations, unsure of our future direction, and a failure (I’m hoping you’re not nodding your head affirmatively at every single one of these). But if you are … that’s … okay. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the Stuart Smalley reference.)
As a recruiter, it’s amazing how often assocaites and partners–many of whom are high-profile and recognized as leaders in their field in Washington, D.C.–confide, in private, that they can relate to these feelings. In many cases, the most successful attorneys are those who are most petrified of failure, which fuels the desire to be “successful” (however that is defined) at all costs. Fear of failure can be a tremendous motivator, but if not kept in check, it can make you a lunatic. (Think of that partner with the huge book of business that everybody–including other partners–hates working with.) Or, if it does not drive you to lunacy, it can just result in you being very unhappy with your career. As such, when attorneys feel like they are failing in any sense of their career (e.g., a client fires them, a partner does not like their work, etc.), it often hits home like a ton of bricks. Sometimes this stress is self-imposed, but sometimes it is imposed by other attorneys. But in either case, it ain’t fun and is particularly painful for type-A, over-achieving attorneys.
Ok, this is starting to seem like an unnecessarily long introduction to this article and is actually straying in a random direction, so I’ll stop myself here. Here’s a link to the article, and feel free to share any comments you might have. http://www.bcgsearch.com/crc/battered_attorney_syndrome_legal_times.pdf
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