You see “The Paper Chase” or “A Few Good Men”, and think, “That’s me… I could do that”. You attend undergrad and eventually confront the maze that is the LSAT. Many days and nights pass with frustrated attempts at logic games and analytical reasoning questions. You run out of time. You get faster. You run out of time again. It’s a test with complex material and it is designed for you to not finish. But then the day arrives, and five or six hours of testing passes by like a dream (perhaps more like a nightmare).

You apply to law schools. You get recommendations from friends, parents, or superiors – anyone that will speak fondly of you. By this time you’re entering the wait game that is law school admission. And by this time, you probably haven’t given much thought to your original impetus for attending law school; it has all happened so fast. If you are lucky, you find a good fit, and hopefully a decent price point. You make the leap towards 1L.

Some people attend law school with a feverish passion for justice. Others might attend because debate team was “their thing”. Anyone that applies is making a bet on themselves. For whichever reason students opt for legal education, it’s easy to forget those reasons along the way. Aside from that, law school will change the way you think and, in some capacity, who you are.

When practicing attorneys think back to their reasons for attending law school, some may still identify with that original spark that started them along in the process. However, it’s fair to say that a lot of attorneys don’t. They fall into a practice area that was a specialization at their first firm. Or, like the undaunted solo practitioner, you work with a paralegal or two and lock down a system that doesn’t change for the better part of 20 years.

Practicing the law can simply be a profession, but it’s also a passion for many attorneys. As a result, the business of running a law firm is a tough thing to balance. Each firm tries their best to spend as little money as possible to bring in and succeed with the most cases they can attend to. Processes get streamlined, people turnover, and the work grows increasingly repetitious. While this is the nature of many industries, the practice of law requires a constant consideration for why you’re doing it. Are you accomplishing what you set out to do when you first picked up that contracts hornbook? Are you serving the clients or disputes that impassioned your younger self?

All of these considerations are central to a long and illustrious career in the law. It’s never too late to use your bar card for a more noble purpose, or to take on a very complex area of law that you never thought you’d make it in. eGeneration works with attorneys in many areas of law. We provide leads for injury attorneys that have a genuine passion for helping everyday people that end up with debilitating injuries. We also provide leads for Social Security disability attorneys that seek to help disabled Americans get back on their feet.

Many of our clients are established in their field, but sometimes we work with attorneys that feel a true passion for these practice areas and seek to build them into their firm. Consider if your original purpose for attending law school is reflected in your law firm today. If it’s not, there are many ways to start down a new path and grow your firm in different directions.