This is an atypical blog post from the FL Bar YLD. It’s meant to be cool, calm, and…calculated. That’s because despite the relaxed writing style, which should be a relief to most readers who deal with an overbearing amount of discovery and paperwork, the comments expressed in this blog can really impact your life. Through a series of recognitions and shout outs, I will paint a picture of the three type of lawyers every young lawyers needs in his/her life. Reflect on it and let me know if I missed anything!

When I was with U.S. Air Force Detachment 145, we ended every class and meeting by shouting “if I have seen farther than others, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants. Sir Isaac Newton.” Very few of us have picked ourselves up by the bootstraps and made ourselves into great successes. I know I haven’t. If it wasn’t for people like my Dad (Hon. Gordon Murray, Sr.), Gary Printy, Sr., Daryl Parks, Ben Crump, Kenneth Pratt, Hon. Nina Ashenafi-Richardson, CAPT Paul Jess, Sean Pittman, and so many others, I wouldn’t be where I am today. That’s because they pushed me, they trained me, they spoke up for me when others spoke out against me, and they were always willing to listen and teach. The number one lawyer each young lawyer needs is The Distinguished Mentor Lawyer (DML). The DML is an established, bright, and knowledgeable attorney. They have experience, they have gravitas, and most importantly, they are more generous than most sharing their time, cases, money, and advice. The DML is as humble as he/she is helpful! Humility is a key because the DML must see their own success in yours. They should be happy when you’re happy and take delight in seeing you utilize their advice (or not in some cases) during your growth to becoming a productive young lawyer. You probably already have a DWL in your life. They’re the ones who called you to hear your Bar results and were ready to support you pass or fail.  They were the ones who you listed as references because you knew they would lie and say great things about you.  They’re the ones who answer your text messages about the simplest areas of law which seem to elude you. On your journey to the top, through the highs and lows, they are, and forever will be, your bridge builders. If you don’t have a DML then you need to turn your interactions with those you admire into friendships, and then develop those friendships into mentor-mentee relationships built on mutual trust and administration.

If you’re a young lawyer, then you’re probably familiar with the lovable hashtag #SQUADGOALS. It’s the common mantra for the cool kids who know to have this other type of lawyer in their life: The Ambitious & Supportive Young Lawyer (A&S). These are the other young lawyers who you look to when you feel like you’re ready to quit.   Seeing them helps you find your own nerve and summon the fortitude to continue the task at hand.  The A&S Lawyers are the ones who got those dual JD/Awesomeness degrees while in school. They’re the proverbial and universal cool person who is always constantly grinding. They wake up on a daily basis and grind from sunrise to sunset and often times their sense of hustle and self-improvement is infectious. Their dedication to their craft and their desire to be a better version of themselves often  forces you to circumscribe your own actions. These Jennito Simons, Jean Polos, Haben Abrahas, Sue-Ann Robinsons, Vanessa Brices, Darby Scotts, and Logan McEwens of the world put everything you do into perspective. They push you, they pull you, they perpetuate the things that make you better while helping you eliminate the things which hold you back. They build you up, they go right along with your crazy ideas and antics, and they make you feel like you can do anything you put your mind to. There’s no better person to vent to, and no better cartographer to help you plan and map out your total domination of the legal profession, because they are right there with you. They’re constantly moving, shaking, and marching forward. The A&S Lawyer is your colleague, your peer, your law school section mate, and your YLD Circuit Governor.  You see them everywhere, and if you don’t, then I would humbly submit that perhaps you’re in the wrong places. If you do not have an A&S Lawyer in your life you should get one right now—if you are the A&S Lawyer describe herein, make yourself available so someone can befriend you and you all can go forth and shine bright!

And most assuredly, if you’ve done anything of merit with your lifelong dream to become a young lawyer then you will likely have this next type of lawyer in your life…much to your chagrin…and that’s the Hater Lawyer (Haters). Science has yet to determine exactly what makes a Hater a Hater. American colloquialisms and adages account for the creation of Haters in this way: Hater Men marry Hater Women and have Hater Kids. What is clear, however, is what they hate…it’s you. It is both your humility and bravado, your naïveté and your knowledge, your triumphs and your disasters. Unfortunately, everyone in your life won’t want to see you be great. In their eyes, your greatness threatens theirs. Your shear output of magnificence makes them feel like a candle in your sunlight, even when it isn’t true. Sometimes the Haters are your colleagues: you know the one constantly praying for your downfall, highlighting your every mistake, even complaining when you’re late. The Haters are a very essential part to any young lawyers’ growth because they force you to develop a fervent desire to shut them up and down forever. You were tired of them complaining about you being late so now you’re early to everything. You can’t punch them in the face so the only way to stop their incessant complaints about your mistakes was to stop making mistakes. Every day they pray for your down fall and every day you’re blessed to watch their prayers go unanswered. Sure it would be great if you were surrounded by DML and A&S Lawyers but where two or more of them gather, a Hater naturally comes in the midst to hate said gathering. My Haters have had a profound impact on me as a lawyer; in fact, I would like to take this time to thank them very little. So shout out to…just kidding…Haters are a nameless group. Their only role in life is to serve as a foil (the literary type) to highlight the best parts of you. They do not add to your resolve but simply make you show your mettle. The parts which make you special and make you…YOU. They are the closed lips when everyone is smiling, the unmoving hands during an applause in your honor, the exiting shadow when you’re being congratulated. They are a cog in your machine.

There are several other types of lawyers that a Young Lawyer must know in order to prosper. If the YLD ever lets me write again, I’ll write about them or perhaps discuss a more serious topic such as the significant implications of the 2018 Constitutional Revision Commission on the legal field. Either way, the point is that we are not islands and Young Lawyers need the benefit of other young lawyers and older more distinguished lawyers in order to have a robust and fulfilling career. Open your mind and heart to new people and you will be made better for it. Local voluntary bar associations are the best places to find both DMLs and A&S Lawyers.  Reach out to your YLD Governor to learn more.

G.C. Murray, Jr. is the Deputy General Counsel of the Florida Justice Association. He is a Governor from the Second Judicial Circuit and most recently was named the American Bar Association’s 40 under 40 lawyers in the United States and was selected to be in Class VII of Connect Florida. To contact G.C. email him at gcmurray@floridajusticeassociation.org.