living and lawyering together
My wife is a lawyer and works part time in my firm. Like the couples featured in this article - who break and earn bread together - my wife and I have built a great working relationship based on mutual respect for our individual strengths. She’s an excellent researcher and writer and can slice through legal arguments like a Ginsu-wielding chef. No one writes a more convincing brief. But, my wife’s the first one to admit that she really doesn’t enjoy dealing with clients face-to-face. I do. In fact, counseling clients is what I most enjoy about the practice of law. Also, unlike me, my wife’s not at all comfortable with the posturing and strong stands that often must be taken in resolving legal matters. While I prefer respectful, rational discussions and reason to hard ball tactics, I’m not at all averse to using the latter when the situation dictates. So, despite the adage that you shouldn’t take your work home or your home to work, my wife and I have managed to parlay our different, but complimentary, skills into a thriving “family business.”
