Gary J. Ross
They say all good things must come to an end. Hardcover books. Headphone jacks. Seann William Scott’s movie career. The RGIII era in Cleveland.
For a lot of us, eventually our drinking days come to an end. The realization comes that maybe we’re not really going to get anything out of yet another trip to Silky O’Sullivan’s, other than missing twenties and a hangover the next morning. Maybe we don’t really need the equivalent of a bottle of wine at every fancy dinner, or a six-pack in order to get through a Braves game. (Actually, strike that last one.) Maybe alcohol is not achieving a net gain.
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Of course, sobriety is not an elixir that will whisk away all your problems. I was shocked at how many problems remained. (Wait, my boss is still a [REDACTED]?!?) Not drinking also forces a person to confront things they would just as soon not, issues that have been kicked down the road like a can. For example, if you really hate being a lawyer, sobriety isn’t going to help at all. (Fortunately, I like being a lawyer, so this wasn’t an issue.) Same goes for if you’re in a relationship that’s not quite clicking. (No comment.) There’s also usually a turnover in your friends, which can be good or bad. (Think of it as moving to a new school.)
Sobriety can, though, make you a better lawyer, mainly by being more alert and in-the-moment, and even aside from that there are ways it will help your career. Here are seven ways sobriety can benefit a legal career:
1. Client respect. Like I said in my Dress Like a Lawyer post last year: just because a client does something doesn’t necessarily mean she wants her lawyer doing the same thing. A particular client might like to drink and may tease you if you don’t drink with her, but at the end of the day clients will respect a lawyer that doesn’t drink, just like they respect a guy who shows up at WeWork wearing a suit (um, right?). I’ll go a step further and say they probably prefer it. If it were you and you were hiring a lawyer, would you hold it against one of the candidates that he didn’t drink? Of course not. You would know at the very least, he’s never going to be going to happy hour and then heading back to the office to draft court documents for you.
2. Always ready. Unless a person replaces drinking with something like long distance running (which is entirely possible), there will be far fewer times when a sober person is unavailable than a person who drinks. Sometimes there are emails or phone calls that actually do require a response right away. While no one is at their best all of the time, I know I would rather be answering emails from clients sleepy than intoxicated. Plus a client won’t be impressed if they call you at 1:30 a.m. and instead of waking you up you’re in a loud bar, people are chanting your name in the background, and you’re having to yell into the phone.
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3. You’re part of an elite group. There are a lot of successful people who do not drink alcohol. Warren Buffet. Jennifer Lopez. Bradley Cooper. Bruce Willis. 50 Cent. Eminem. Chris Martin. Rob Lowe (25 years!). Kim Kardashian. David Beckham. Gary J. Ross. [Ed. note: Who?] Larry Ellison. If any of these people or the numerous others like them were looking to hire a lawyer, would it be a positive or a negative that the attorney didn’t drink? I’m not saying it would be dispositive, but which way would it cut? (By the way, Gerard Butler says he quit drinking in his 20s when it cost him his shot at being a lawyer. Take that as you will.)
4. Mornings > Late nights. More business is done in the morning than after midnight. A person is much better off being at Loew’s at 7 a.m. for a power breakfast than at Silky O’Sullivan’s at 1 a.m. Sure, there are times when negotiations stretch into the wee hours and an agreement is reached at some ungodly hour. But it’s a fallacy to think serious businesspersons are regularly bumping into each other in bars late at night and striking deals — that they’ll remember and actually carry out the next day –- and that if you’re not in a bar at 10 p.m. you’re somehow going to miss out on work.
5. Can fit more work in. Hey, if you love — or even like — what you do, then yes, this is a legitimate benefit. You can get up, maybe even go to yoga or go running, and then go into work bright and early with energy, ready to tackle the day. If you have to drag yourself in, it’s going to be a long day, and your clients aren’t going to be getting a very strong billable hour.
6. Clients believe excuses more readily. Who’s going to believe you if the day after the Super Bowl you get a flat tire? Everyone, that’s who, if they know you don’t drink.
7. Better judgment at all times. If you’re drinking, the odds of suffering an embarrassing moment at a firm event are much greater. Things that might have seemed like a good idea at the time may, upon reflection, appear questionable. Like twerking with an administrative assistant. Or twerking with a summer associate. Or twerking with a senior partner. Basically, twerking with anyone at a firm event is probably a bad idea, but you’re probably not going to do it if you don’t drink.
You don’t want to be the person who incessantly talks about being sober. (Notice I only write about it once a year, around this time.) If you do, even people who don’t drink will quickly get tired of listening to you. None of the celebrities I mentioned in #3 above will talk about their sobriety unless they’re asked, and there are some like the Red Hot Chili Peppers who won’t talk about it at all, even though they’ve been sober for years. Unless you regularly come into the office late, ruddy-faced, smelling like a distillery and talking to yourself, it’s doubtful anyone at work is going to suddenly notice a change.
But you will. You’ll be different, and after awhile you may find that your career has a much higher trajectory than it once did.
Gary J. Ross opened his own practice, Jackson Ross PLLC, in 2013 after several years in Biglaw and the federal government. Gary handles corporate and securities matters for startups, large and small businesses, private equity funds, and investors in each, and also has a number of non-profit clients. You can reach Gary by email at [email protected].