Once upon a time there was a lawyer...

Good career related piece in the October 28, 2005 Chicago Law Bulletin. The author is a chief career development officer at a Chicago law firm...interesting job title. We all need a chief career development officer, right?

She raises some good questions that a person needs to be asking upon considering a law firm position. For example:

*What access will I have to supervisory feedback and mentoring?
*What degree of work-life balance am I seeking?
*What type of clients do I want to serve now and into the future?
*What commitment has the firm made to the professional advancement of its attorneys?

She lists 15 questions to ask in the article. I started my practice because I didn't believe that the law firms that I previously worked for were really committed to my professional advancement. Further, I felt that the insular nature of many law firms really didn't allow for much mentoring or supervisory feedback at all. Now I feel like I'm free to network to my hearts desire with various lawyers and really help one another out.