Julie Shanahan, my law partner of thirty years, retired yesterday. She is one of the finest human beings I have known, generous, patient and always thinking of others. One hell of a good lawyer, too. I looked at her empty office before I left last night and, um, got a bit moist-eyed.
Now, plush as Crowe & Shanahan's offices may be, we do not have a private beach. Don, our other lawyer, is, shall we say, a free spirit. One wall of his office is papered with a scene of coastal Tahiti. It was an appropriate backdrop. Julie owns part of a condo in southwest Florida. She will spend the first quarter of 2016 there. And then what?
She is just 57. Sadly, like a good number of American lawyers, she's had enough. Too many hours, too much pressure, serious enough to demand another way of life. She might become a national park ranger. She might become a judge. Time will tell.
The crew wanted a picture of all of us. Below, from left to right:
Don, our other lawyer who's been with us 27 or 28 years; Cindy, my paralegal for 33 years (the woman is a saint) and Don's wife (when we hired Don she stuck her elbow in my ribs and told me to get him to take her out to dinner); Kaari, Julie's paralegal; Rachel, our receptionist for 20-something years; Julie; Jennifer, Julie's administrative assistant; Dawn, Don's paralegal for half of forever; Jazmyne, my administrative assistant; Kathy, our office Manager; and the old guy in the back. We are losing one of the family.
Now, plush as Crowe & Shanahan's offices may be, we do not have a private beach. Don, our other lawyer, is, shall we say, a free spirit. One wall of his office is papered with a scene of coastal Tahiti. It was an appropriate backdrop. Julie owns part of a condo in southwest Florida. She will spend the first quarter of 2016 there. And then what?
She is just 57. Sadly, like a good number of American lawyers, she's had enough. Too many hours, too much pressure, serious enough to demand another way of life. She might become a national park ranger. She might become a judge. Time will tell.
The crew wanted a picture of all of us. Below, from left to right:
Don, our other lawyer who's been with us 27 or 28 years; Cindy, my paralegal for 33 years (the woman is a saint) and Don's wife (when we hired Don she stuck her elbow in my ribs and told me to get him to take her out to dinner); Kaari, Julie's paralegal; Rachel, our receptionist for 20-something years; Julie; Jennifer, Julie's administrative assistant; Dawn, Don's paralegal for half of forever; Jazmyne, my administrative assistant; Kathy, our office Manager; and the old guy in the back. We are losing one of the family.
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