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Scott Benton: Hey everyone, Scott Benton here. How are you? I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast, where we help you easily transition from a law school student into your professional career as an attorney, and where we like to make the practices of the law fun. Now today, in terms of delivering legal services, a subject that we talk about a lot on this podcast, in terms of discussing the success cycle, we’re going to take a look at a baseball legend from about a hundred years back named Babe Ruth. What can we learn from this sports icon and what are the lessons we can draw from, so to speak, the Babe Ruth method for practicing law?
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Scott Benton: Today we’re going to take a look at a baseball legend from about a hundred years ago named Babe Ruth and what the Babe Ruth method can teach us about practicing law.
Now you might be wondering, what does Babe Ruth possibly have to do with practicing law since he was a baseball player and not an attorney? Well, Babe Ruth wasn’t just any baseball player. Babe Ruth was an absolute legend. But what exactly made him a legend wasn’t that he tried to be good at everything regarding baseball.
In other words, he didn’t try to be the best at [00:02:00] fielding, or running bases, or even playing multiple positions. No, Babe Ruth became a legend because he leaned into his one and only strength. And that strength was hitting home runs. That’s it. That was his whole formula. Just leaning into the idea of taking his strength and amplifying it.
Now, Babe Ruth recognized what he was uniquely good at and he doubled down on that one thing. More importantly, Babe Ruth didn’t focus on what he wasn’t good at. Instead, he focused on what he could do better than anyone else. And as a result, he became one of the most famous athletes in history. I mean, a hundred years later, and we’re still talking about Babe.
What, if anything, does this mean for you as a new lawyer? It means that while law school might have trained you to be well rounded, the real key to a successful and satisfying legal career to consider is finding your [00:03:00] strength, or your home run swing, if you want to put it in a sports term, and then simply leaning into it and do what Babe Ruth did with his career.
So, let’s break this down a bit. Now, in the early stages of your legal career, you might feel a lot of pressure to be good at everything.
Everything like research and writing, maybe oral argumentation or client relations, you name it, the whole deal. And while it’s important to be competent in all of these areas, Babe Ruth, he could catch a ball and he could run the bases, you know, even though he wasn’t setting speed records, it’s equally important to recognize where you naturally excel.
So you really need this to be a conscious focus of yours as you perform your legal services and as you work your way through the success cycle. Now, maybe you’re a natural negotiator, let’s say, and someone who could find common ground even in the most contentious legal disputes. Or you might have a knack for legal writing and shaping and crafting arguments that are as persuasive as they are [00:04:00] precise. Whatever that big and powerful home run swing is of yours, that’s your strength and that’s where you really want to channel and focus your energy.
Now does that mean that you ignore everything else?
Absolutely not. But it does mean you should prioritize developing your strengths. So while Babe Ruth didn’t completely ignore the other aspects of the game, he did know that his home runs were what made him stand out, and it made him an absolute legend for over a hundred years. So in the same way Babe Ruth did it, you too might need to identify what makes you stand out as an attorney, and direct your time and resources into honing that particular skill.
Leaning into your strengths isn’t just about becoming the best in your field, it’s also about finding professional satisfaction. Now, when you’re working in an area that you’re naturally talented in, you’re more likely to enjoy your work. You’ll even show up early in the office to get started each morning.
You’re going to feel confident in what you’re doing, and you’ll deliver better [00:05:00] results for your clients.
In a field as demanding as law, that kind of satisfaction is absolutely priceless. And it’s going to make every day one more opportunity for you to wake up before your alarm goes off, jump out of bed, and get your day going.
But, here’s the catch, and there’s always a catch. Finding your strength isn’t easy. It takes self reflection, it takes feedback, and sometimes a little bit of trial and error. You might have to take on different roles or cases before you really discover where your true talents lie. And that’s okay. The key is to stay open to continuous learning and to be willing to pivot whenever you find something that resonates with you.
Once you’ve identified your strength, the next step is to build upon it. You want to take courses, you want to read books and watch videos, you want to seek out mentors, and you really want to look for opportunities to apply and refine that skill in your daily practice. Now over time, not only will this make you a better lawyer, but it’s also going to help you build a reputation as an [00:06:00] expert in your area.
So as you move from the classroom to the courtroom. Remember the legend of Babe Ruth and what his method of leaning into his strength a hundred years ago can teach you today about practicing law and about delivering high quality legal services. Don’t spread yourself too thin trying to be great at everything.
That might really just kind of end up sending you out on a wild goose chase. Instead, you want to find your strength, lean into it, amplify it as much as possible, and watch it develop. And what Babe Ruth did transform your career completely.
So I hope this gives you some food for thought as you continue along your journey building your career as an attorney
I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. Thank you so much for dropping by and checking out our show.
If you like this podcast and you’d like to get more information about us, you can always go to our website at classroom2courtroom. com. That’s classroom, the number two, courtroom. com, where you can send us a message to keep in touch, or you can [00:07:00] even inquire about our seasonal associate programs that we have available for law school students.
You can come and work with us.
And as always, don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe to stay on top of all of our newest episodes. And until next time, we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place, one client at a time.
