President’s Message

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By: Jason H. Long

Lewis Thomason P.C.

WHY DO WE DO THIS?

As of the writing of this article, it feels a little like 1996. The Vols play Alabama this weekend in a matchup of undefeated SEC teams with championship aspirations. Tennessee fans have elevated our talented quarterback, Hendon Hooker, to the status of rockstar. Gameday will be broadcasting from campus on Sunday, and it feels like we are the epicenter of college football. The color orange is again in vogue.

Substitute Peyton Manning for Hendon Hooker and the University of Florida for the University of Alabama, and we are living through 1996 all over again. A good era for the Volunteers and the year in which I received my license to practice law. That was the year I joined the KBA, and I joined the fellowship of east Tennessee lawyers.

I am thinking about those days not just because our football team is playing well. I had the honor over the past couple of weeks of performing character and fitness interviews for candidates sitting for licensure by the Tennessee bar. As is my custom, I took the opportunity to extoll the virtues of bar membership and impress upon the soon-to-be newly minted lawyers the need to be part of something larger than themselves.

I asked them why they decided to become lawyers in the first place. We all had our reasons for why we became lawyers. Some did it out of a desire to help people, some did it because they thought it was a good way to make money. Some enjoy the challenge presented by the practice, while others had been called to the practice for a long time, perhaps inspired by a teacher or encouraged by family.

Regardless of why someone started in practice, the more interesting question for me is why we stay. The practice of law is hard. There is no question about it. There are certainly easier ways to make money and, so long as the billable hour is the coin of the realm, there is a limit as to how much money can be made. Our commodity, our time, is finite. It is true that you can help people with a law license and that is a good feeling. However, true victories are actually fairly rare. Normally we succeed for our client at the expense or cost to another person. Plus, the reach of how much good we can do is normally limited to one client at a time.

Perhaps it is the challenge of the practice that keeps so many engaged in the practice of law. Being a lawyer is a badge of honor. It is an achievement. It is an acknowledgement that one can succeed in one of the most demanding, if not the most demanding, professions in the world. The practice of law requires a mastery of multiple disciplines: high-level reasoning, creative and technical writing, obsessive organization, strong memory and recall, charismatic and persuasive public speaking and debate skills, and an ability to efficiently and effectively pursue a path to resolution. Perhaps we practice law because we love the challenge. We love the feeling that comes with knowing we can succeed in that environment. There is probably something to that. Law students and lawyers tend to be achievers. We are accustomed to academic and professional success. It is a motivating force. Nonetheless, it seems like that adrenaline rush would run thin in time. Eventually, the stress would seem to outweigh whatever rush we get from the practice and more people would choose different opportunities. But that doesn’t happen. Year after year we see attorneys staying longer and longer in the practice.

So, what is it that keeps so many of us working in a difficult and stressful profession? Why do we do this? Personally, I think it is a little combination of everything above. We got into the practice for one of a variety of good reasons and we stay because we can earn a good (not great) living, we enjoy helping people and we feel challenged in our career choice, making it much more rewarding. I understand that there may be a variety of other reasons, but I think these are the most common factors. And there is one more thing. After a few years of practice, it becomes our identity. It is just who we are. There are a lot of adjectives and categories you would use to describe Jason Long as a person, but lawyer is up near or at the top of the list. I suspect it is for many reading this article. We identify as lawyers, and it is a core part of who we are. Maybe more so than many other professions, lawyer defines a type of person, how we think and act and basic elements of our personality. I think that is pretty special, and I am proud of it.

As technology has advanced, and the nature of the practice has changed, whether by increased specialization, remote access to a larger volume of resources, or a number of other changes in the practice, I have heard people question whether bar associations remain relevant to the practicing lawyer. When I hear people question the relevancy of bar associations, I remind myself of why people are lawyers and why we take pride in being defined by the profession. Our bar association facilitates all of the reasons we are lawyers and enhances those experiences. The bar association can help in practice, providing one resources to be more successful, personally and financially. It creates a community, allowing a larger collective reach to do good. It develops that pride in profession and self-definition as a lawyer by giving an opportunity to interact and collaborate with others who show us what the practice of law can be.

I am proud to be a lawyer. I am proud to be a member of the Knoxville Bar Association. I think those two things go hand in hand and complement one another. I hope, if you have not already, you will take the opportunity I encouraged these new lawyer candidates to take. Participate in the bar. Take advantage of its resources and opportunities to remind yourself why you are glad to be a lawyer. Whatever the reason, I’m willing to bet the KBA has the tools to enhance that pride and sense of community. Whether it is 2022 or 1996, the KBA is there for lawyers, and I am thankful it is.