var googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad(); });
device = device.default;
//this function refreshes [adhesion] ad slot every 60 second and makes prebid bid on it every 60 seconds // Set timer to refresh slot every 60 seconds function setIntervalMobile() { if (!device.mobile()) return if (adhesion) setInterval(function(){ googletag.pubads().refresh([adhesion]); }, 60000); } if(device.desktop()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { leaderboard_top = googletag.defineSlot('/22018898626/LC_Article_detail_page', [728, 90], 'div-gpt-ad-1591620860846-0').setTargeting('pos', ['1']).setTargeting('div_id', ['leaderboard_top']).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); } else if(device.tablet()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { leaderboard_top = googletag.defineSlot('/22018898626/LC_Article_detail_page', [320, 50], 'div-gpt-ad-1591620860846-0').setTargeting('pos', ['1']).setTargeting('div_id', ['leaderboard_top']).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); } else if(device.mobile()) { googletag.cmd.push(function() { leaderboard_top = googletag.defineSlot('/22018898626/LC_Article_detail_page', [320, 50], 'div-gpt-ad-1591620860846-0').setTargeting('pos', ['1']).setTargeting('div_id', ['leaderboard_top']).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); } googletag.cmd.push(function() { // Enable lazy loading with... googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ // Fetch slots within 5 viewports. // fetchMarginPercent: 500, fetchMarginPercent: 100, // Render slots within 2 viewports. // renderMarginPercent: 200, renderMarginPercent: 100, // Double the above values on mobile, where viewports are smaller // and users tend to scroll faster. mobileScaling: 2.0 }); });
Download App | FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
 Upload Your Resume   Employers / Post Jobs 

Pursuing a parallel career to beat the stress of legal job- Part 2

  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Attorney
  4. Legal Profiles
  5. Law Job Star
  6. Pursuing a parallel career to beat the stress of legal job- Part 2

published July 30, 2007

Published By
( 118 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
<<Now, here comes the best part of this story. When Tequila Mockingbird is not cruising the rink, she is busy practicing law. Yes, she is a lawyer by day, roller derby queen by night. So why does she feel the need to expand her horizons?

Being a lawyer is stressful. The pressure and anxiety of the profession can literally drive attorneys mad, or at least to the point where they, and many people who love them, think they have gone mad. This is why many of today's lawyers are venturing out from behind the dark and consuming courtroom doors to pursue hobbies and second careers that satisfy their adventurous and creative senses. Almost all attorneys agree that having another hobby or side career actually helps them stay focused and engaged in their work as attorneys.


Check out what the country's attorneys are doing in their spare time to keep their lives fulfilled and balanced outside of the law:

<<Tyler Pokrass: Comic Book Dealer—Durham, North Carolina

What started out as a supplement to his income during law school has become a passion for Tyler Pokrass. Pokrass began to dabble in antiques when he was young, accompanying his parents when they attended estate sales and visited various antique stores. He collected bottles, coins, and then comic books. Years later, after discovering a stash of old comics at his friend's grandparents' house, Pokrass got his first taste of comic book broking when he sold the 1963 issue of Spider-Man 1 for a handsome profit.

In high school, college, and law school, Pokrass dove into buying and selling comics for profit. During law school, he connected with a local doctor who was in search of some of his favorite vintage comics (comic books published before 1975). Pokrass went to work shopping around at comic book shows and on eBay for the doctor, and eventually, his profits from that work helped him get through law school financially. Pokrass was even able to put a down payment on a house when he sold a 1940s issue of the Whiz comic book that featured the first appearance of Captain Marvel.

<< Today, with a successful private practice in Durham, Pokrass continues to buy and sell comic books for supplementary cash, but he mostly does it for the fun of it all. His favorite comics are the Detective Batman issues and the early Superman issues, as well as comics from the 1950s with outrageous titles like Teenage Dope Slaves.

"It doesn't matter what you partake in to be a healthy, well-rounded person. Everyone needs a hobby to have some time away from law," he said.

Ethan McQuinn: Drummer—Denver, Colorado

During college in the mid 1990s, Ethan McQuinn took his lifelong passion for music further when he joined a band, Melatonin, as a drummer. His and his band's influences were artists like The Police, The Samples, and Phil Collins. McQuinn and his band developed a following and played the Denver club circuit throughout his college years and law school. Melatonin even played for a few of McQuinn's law school's talent shows. Because of the response they received, the group was invited to play at a private party for an audience of approximately 1,000 at the Boulder, Colorado, Fox Theatre. Though his music career never took him to the mainstream and his band eventually dissolved, McQuinn now can be found playing for the mega-church Woodman Valley Chapel.

<<As a current associate at Anderson, Hemmat & Levine specializing in personal injury litigation, McQuinn has found that drumming relieves the stress of litigation and can be "therapeutic" for him.

"Law has a tendency to consume one's entire life, but it's important to have a hobby to maintain your quality of life and keep you balanced," he said.

Keith Kandel: U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel—Livingston, New Jersey

In 1985, following his first year in college, Keith Kandel decided to pursue a different route by joining the Army National Guard. He actively served for three years before going back to school and graduating from Widener University School of Law in 1993. Though Kandel said that he "never planned on law" and that he "fell into it," he has found that many of his skills from the Army have smoothly translated in his law career.

"Some skills are complementary to law, including leadership, focus, and development/planning," he said.

<< Now practicing at Braff, Harris & Sukoneck, specializing in personal injury, Kandel spends his weekends training and doing special projects as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. Kandel maintains the mindset that "it is important to realize that there is a life outside of law." Besides letting law go for the weekend, Kandel has cultivated many friendships through his involvement in the Army Reserves.

"I've connected differently with people in the military and developed strong friendships with people with the same views and values as me," said Kandel.

Scott Fleming: Canyoneer—Las Vegas, Nevada

Shareholder at Hale Lane Law Offices Scott Fleming discovered his favorite getaway from law four years ago when a friend of his invited him along for a weekend of the up-and-coming sport canyoneering. Basically the opposite of mountaineers, canyoneers use rappelling equipment to descend into canyons. The challenging sport requires knowledge of rock climbing, rope skills, and high endurance. It can also be done in an aquatic or semi-aquatic canyon environment and can require scaling slick rocks, swimming in ice-cold water, climbing up and down boulders, and excellent map reading skills.

Fleming usually takes six to eight canyoneering trips per year during the late summer and early autumn months. His favorite locations are Zion National Park and Escalante National Monument in Utah. Over the past four years, canyoneering has helped Fleming develop and strengthen his friendships.

"You're putting your life in their hands, so it can really help build strong friendships," he said.

<<Peter Russo: Pianist and Singer—Newark, New Jersey

With a lifelong passion for music and the arts, Peter Russo, a civil rights sole practitioner working in New York City, has broadened his career and become a singer and pianist, as well as an author. It was only natural that Russo would carry music close to him, as he grew up in a household filled with it. When he was a baby, he would actually scream if the radio was not on! In his childhood, Russo began playing the piano by ear, and he was in love from then on.

Performing at various clubs, restaurants, and events in and around New York, Russo has opened for musicians like Tony Orlando and Neil Sedaka. His CD, In a Sentimental Mood, was released last year; it features his renditions of a variety of pop and jazz-standard songs. His CD is available at certain Barnes & Noble locations.

<< Russo also branched out from his law career in 2001 when he went to Cuba and decided to write a book. While in Cuba, Russo met and befriended a college professor from Nevada, and the two got to talking about how organized crime helped Fidel Castro and Cuba in the revolution that led to the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Their book, Offshore Vegas: How the Mob Brought Revolution to Cuba, was released last April and is currently available at Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.com, and the publisher's website, iUniverse.com.

Russo advises that having other activities outside of law is "essential" for any successful lawyer.

"A lot of lawyers are unfulfilled and hate it [law]. Many tell me that they would get out of it if they could; it gets ugly," he said. As an attorney, you are constantly dealing with people and building relationships, so it is valuable to know what else is going on outside of your world of law.

"If you're going to be a good lawyer," he said, "do something to develop your soul."

Kenji Tashiro and Andrew Fleischman: Opera Singer and Pianist—Louisville, Kentucky

This pair of lawyer friends from Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald, both partners in the firm, combined their musical forces when they discovered that they both had an interest and background in music at a reception held by their firm. They also met another singer who asked to meet up with them to sing and play.

Kenji Tashiro and Andrew Fleischman both came from strong musical backgrounds before they went to law school and took off in the legal world. Growing up and training in Japan, Tashiro was introduced by his mother to a prominent Japanese singer when he was young. When the singer heard his voice, she asked him to come train with her, and he did. Fleischman had a music scholarship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he was a music major and earned extra money as an accompanist.

Since their collaboration, Tashiro and Fleischman have been asked to perform at various local events, charities, and cocktail parties. Fleischman has played piano for the Kentucky Opera on numerous occasions, and he is also a board member of the organization. Last February, Tashiro sang in the chorus for the Kentucky Opera's performance of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

Dubbed Louisville's local "ambassadors for the arts," Tashiro and Fleischman both agree that their passions for music have opened doors to clients and networking as well as educated their town about music and the arts.

"These days, I am distinguishing between the two less and less," said Fleischman. "It's important to keep happy; even later in your career, it's important to have hobbies as another outlet."
  1. Legal Jobs
  2. Legal Articles
  3. Attorney
  4. Legal Profiles
  5. Law Job Star
  6. Pursuing a parallel career to beat the stress of legal job- Part 2

published July 30, 2007

( 118 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Related

Paul Singleton: Former Inner-City School Teacher Concerned about Society's Inequities

Legal Placement Specialists, Inc.

United States District Court Information - District of North Carolina

Paul Singleton: Former Inner-City School Teacher Concerned about Society's Inequities

Legal Placement Specialists, Inc.

United States District Court Information - District of North Carolina

Discuss Legal Job on Top Law Schools

Legal Jobs/Internships During Undergrad

Legal Careers For Enjt's?

How Does A Trump Presidency Affect Legal Jobs?

Related Legal Jobs

Judicial Clerkship

Summer Associate

Lawyer

General Counsel

Entry Level Attorney

Law Firm Attorney

Related Podcasts

Ten Reasons You Will Never Be in Control Over Your Legal Career if You Work in a Law Firm 

Related Videos

What Do Unhappy Legal Careers and Bad Relationships Have in Common? 

Only LawCrossing consolidates every job it can find in the legal industry and puts all of the job listings it locates in one place.

Popular Questions

Do you want a better legal career?

Hi, I'm Harrison Barnes. I'm serious about improving Lawyers' legal careers. My only question is, will it be yours?
  1. Attorney
  2. Legal Profiles
  3. Law Job Star