{"id":150746,"date":"2026-05-08T07:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/05\/08\/when-you-know-its-time-to-go\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T07:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:33:09","slug":"when-you-know-its-time-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/05\/08\/when-you-know-its-time-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"When You Know It\u2019s Time To Go"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In dinosaur days, if a lawyer or a judge had any publicity, it was frowned upon. The best lawyers were always behind the scenes, doing what they did best, without any fanfare or flacks (they are called publicists today). There were stunning verdicts, trial lawyers at the top of their games, but practicing law then was a quiet, discreet profession, behind closed doors in offices full of law books and leather chairs, dictaphones and redwells. Still to come were the inventions that have helped make the practice what it is today: the internet and social media, marketing personnel, laptops and smartphones, and all the other accoutrements that influence today\u2019s practice, especially the rise of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

For those of us who have witnessed the evolution, perhaps the revolution (or devolution, depending upon your viewpoint) of law practice, these changes have confounded many. Is it the time to move on from whatever spotlight we may have had to life\u2019s next stage or stay put? We are antediluvian, that is, prehistoric, creatures of an earlier time in which professionalism, civility, and cordiality, qualities that were givens and just as important as billable hours, were key. (Remember block billing?) In those days, there was no need to confirm every conversation between counsel in writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throw in the use of artificial intelligence to the pressures of the current lawyering environment and the need to be competent in that area. It\u2019s prompting both internal and external discussions about whether to continue to practice. The pace continues to accelerate and some feel that this is the fork in the road<\/a> that has been placed there to make that decision easier.<\/p>\n

Years ago, one in-house lawyer I knew decided to retire because he didn\u2019t want to learn and then handle e-discovery for his client. E-discovery. Sounds quaint and very old-fashioned now. When was the last time you fretted about e-discovery? I thought so.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons for making the decision: reductions in force, stealth layoffs<\/a>, being let go due to substandard performance (aka insufficient billables and collections), client issues, lack of new business or continuing business, loss of referral sources, health issues that can no longer be ignored, unhappy firm mergers<\/a>, or dissolutions. Alternatively, we may have toughed it out until we know we\u2019re done (just stick a fork in us).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Remind yourself that disappearing from public view in the practice for whatever reason doesn\u2019t mean failure. It means freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freedom from the manacles of billable hours, freedom from the stress and distress that has accompanied all of us at various times, if not our constant companions, freedom from the frustration of trying to satisfy client whims, freedom from worrying whether you are professionally competent in all the new technologies to avoid bar discipline. The pressure to aggressively market, market, market in pursuit of the career is in the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n

Freedom: the ability to choose what you want to do, the ability to do nothing at all, the ability to daydream, to wool-gather about all the possibilities that are out there. Don\u2019t tell me that there aren\u2019t any; they are everywhere. It\u2019s just a matter of taking the time to see clearly and decide what is important and meaningful to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not retirement, a word that strikes terror into many. It\u2019s redirection. It\u2019s not the same process for everyone<\/a> and don\u2019t expect it to be. The years of comparison should be over. What may be important to one is not important to another. So, how do you want to spend this third act of your life? Do you keep your license active and get involved in pro bono or maintain a small practice? Do you volunteer in organizations that have always interested you? Do you enjoy the leisure that you have earned?\u00a0For many of us, downshifting from warp speed takes time. Carving out a different identity from partner, corporate counsel, or any other title that has identified you as a lawyer during your career takes time. There may be fits and starts. That\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n

The threshold question:\u00a0how will you know when it\u2019s time to go? The answer is simple: when you know, you know.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The post When You Know It\u2019s Time To Go<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In dinosaur days, if a lawyer or a judge had any publicity, it was frowned upon. The best lawyers were always behind the scenes, doing what they did best, without any fanfare or flacks (they are called publicists today). There were stunning verdicts, trial lawyers at the top of their games, but practicing law then was a quiet, discreet profession, behind closed doors in offices full of law books and leather chairs, dictaphones and redwells. Still to come were the inventions that have helped make the practice what it is today: the internet and social media, marketing personnel, laptops and smartphones, and all the other accoutrements that influence today\u2019s practice, especially the rise of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

For those of us who have witnessed the evolution, perhaps the revolution (or devolution, depending upon your viewpoint) of law practice, these changes have confounded many. Is it the time to move on from whatever spotlight we may have had to life\u2019s next stage or stay put? We are antediluvian, that is, prehistoric, creatures of an earlier time in which professionalism, civility, and cordiality, qualities that were givens and just as important as billable hours, were key. (Remember block billing?) In those days, there was no need to confirm every conversation between counsel in writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throw in the use of artificial intelligence to the pressures of the current lawyering environment and the need to be competent in that area. It\u2019s prompting both internal and external discussions about whether to continue to practice. The pace continues to accelerate and some feel that this is the fork in the road<\/a> that has been placed there to make that decision easier.<\/p>\n

Years ago, one in-house lawyer I knew decided to retire because he didn\u2019t want to learn and then handle e-discovery for his client. E-discovery. Sounds quaint and very old-fashioned now. When was the last time you fretted about e-discovery? I thought so.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons for making the decision: reductions in force, stealth layoffs<\/a>, being let go due to substandard performance (aka insufficient billables and collections), client issues, lack of new business or continuing business, loss of referral sources, health issues that can no longer be ignored, unhappy firm mergers<\/a>, or dissolutions. Alternatively, we may have toughed it out until we know we\u2019re done (just stick a fork in us).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Remind yourself that disappearing from public view in the practice for whatever reason doesn\u2019t mean failure. It means freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freedom from the manacles of billable hours, freedom from the stress and distress that has accompanied all of us at various times, if not our constant companions, freedom from the frustration of trying to satisfy client whims, freedom from worrying whether you are professionally competent in all the new technologies to avoid bar discipline. The pressure to aggressively market, market, market in pursuit of the career is in the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n

Freedom: the ability to choose what you want to do, the ability to do nothing at all, the ability to daydream, to wool-gather about all the possibilities that are out there. Don\u2019t tell me that there aren\u2019t any; they are everywhere. It\u2019s just a matter of taking the time to see clearly and decide what is important and meaningful to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not retirement, a word that strikes terror into many. It\u2019s redirection. It\u2019s not the same process for everyone<\/a> and don\u2019t expect it to be. The years of comparison should be over. What may be important to one is not important to another. So, how do you want to spend this third act of your life? Do you keep your license active and get involved in pro bono or maintain a small practice? Do you volunteer in organizations that have always interested you? Do you enjoy the leisure that you have earned?\u00a0For many of us, downshifting from warp speed takes time. Carving out a different identity from partner, corporate counsel, or any other title that has identified you as a lawyer during your career takes time. There may be fits and starts. That\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n

The threshold question:\u00a0how will you know when it\u2019s time to go? The answer is simple: when you know, you know.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In dinosaur days, if a lawyer or a judge had any publicity, it was frowned upon. The best lawyers were always behind the scenes, doing what they did best, without any fanfare or flacks (they are called publicists today). There were stunning verdicts, trial lawyers at the top of their games, but practicing law then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":150679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-1203616323-scaled-ELXVSy.jpg?fit=2560%2C1792&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}