Lawyers are some of the most sedentary professionals.  So much so that more than one partner in my office has been known to sit so completely still while dictating briefs, for such a long time, that the lights in their offices have gone out. The automatic sensors did not detect anyone in the room.

In an effort to ward off a future sedentary lifestyle, and the weight gain I have termed the “armchair 15″, I sought advice from a more active partner.  His response: “Get out of the office!”

He said as a young lawyer you can get trapped in your office acting like a lab rat constantly circling the halls of your office suite.  I never thought of myself as a lab rat, but had to admit that what he said was true.  There were certainly days when I wrestled with bouts of cubicle/windowless office insanity or when I realized that I may have left my office once or twice the entire day.

Working in an enclosed office environment can at times be depressing, stifle one’s creativity, and weaken one’s social skills.  He said young lawyers need to take every opportunity to get out of the office and go visit clients  and “press the flesh.”  I think it has been some of the best advice I have received.

Young lawyers need to let the client put a face to a name and hear the lovely or handsome telephone voice you have probably perfected by now.

Whether a solo practitioner or an associate at a firm, the younger lawyers are doing most of the work on cases for the client. Letting the client meet you and get to know you reassures them that a competent attorney is handling their matter, and it also helps the attorney practice the sometimes forgotten interpersonal skill of how to meet and greet.

That skill will serve you well in your long career as an attorney and is an essential part to obtaining new clients, not to mention the obvious health benefits of getting out of your chair and getting some fresh air.

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