Don’t make career decisions based on others’ journeys

Too many lawyers and law students fall into the trap of comparing themselves to their colleagues and classmates and make vocational choices based on a narrow view of what constitutes success and what they think they should be doing (something the host of this show has fallen into the trap of doing in years gone by). Instead, lawyers need to forge their own paths and be true to themselves. On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Cassandra Heilbronn, a Queensland lawyer currently based in Saudi Arabia as the chief executive officer of a private family office, to discuss the pertinent issue of lawyers comparing themselves to others and making career decisions on others’ trajectory, the myriad ways in which this can manifest and how it plagues lawyers of all stripes. Ms Heilbronn reflects on her own journey, the advice she offers lawyers she speaks to (as a mentor and as a public speaker), the consequences of falling into the trap of comparison and narrow views of success, the questions one needs to ask in forging a path that is truer to one’s self, any practical steps that can be taken, and why it will be so much more rewarding for legal professionals to avoid the tendency to compare and contrast with others. If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!