Law and the Camping/Hiking Ethic

If you were ever a boy or girl scout, or even if you weren't, but still like to camp or hike, then you probably have heard and know the camping/hiking ethic:  "leave your campsite or the hiking trail in better shape than you found it.  Muffy Aldrich asserts that this attitude of stewardship is the "sine qua non" to her view of Preppy (and shall I contradict her?  I think not).  But I think it is also the sine qua non of a lawyer who tries to keep the best interests of his or her client at the forefront.

Completing the case or the transaction with the client's situation in better shape than you found it should be what motivates a caring lawyer to get up and go to the office each day.  It sound quite Pollyanna perhaps, but it is essentially what Carolyn Elefant means when she asks "do you want to be remembered as a lawyer who used your talents to change lives and make the world a better place?"  Is this solely a matter of altruism?  No, there is an economic benefit that comes to the attorney who practices with the hiking ethic in mind:  clients will become repeat clients and will refer their family and friends.

Real life being what it is, even the best and most caring attorney cannot always leave their client's circumstance in better shape than they found it.  But it is gratifying when it does happen.  I recently completed an estate plan with a couple.  They have two young children and intended to get to their estate plan some time ago.  They were happy to have that task completed (for now - estate plans are always evolving; but that's another post) and grateful for my help.  But there is more to it - they told me they were proud of their estate plan.  Now, I did not do anything especially elaborate or sophisticated with their estate plan - but it is a good, practical plan that they understood well enough to explain to others (I dislike plans that are so elaborate, so weighed down with tax code references etc. that the client must take on faith that their estate plan does what the lawyer says it does - more on this in another post).  Am I proud of the plan I prepared for these clients?  Yes, because it was the right plan for where they are right now and it gave them no less and no more than they needed; but I guess what I will say is that I am very, very pleased that the good, practical work I did gave these clients a feeling of pride and accomplishment and truly left their circumstances in much better shape than they were before I started my work - and that's why I like practicing law.