R
Raverlaw
I've taken the plunge and will be starting a new career on Monday-
I've been a lawyer for 18 years now, and self employed for the last 13 years. I've enjoyed many aspects of the profession, helping my clients most of all, and I will miss my many loyal clients; some of whom have become good friends in over the years.
Self-employment has some benefits - no boss to report to (except myself, and I can be pretty tough on myself) and some freedom of scheduling, etc. It also has a down side - no medical benefits (except at a very high cost), no paid sick time, no paid vacation, and the hours can be very long at times. When you're ultimately responsible and the work needs to get done - guess who does it?
I can truly say that my OHS last February gave me both the time and the inclination to think about where my life was going, and to ponder other possibilities. Although I wasn't actively looking for a new situation, I was open to it. And as so often happens when we're open to new possibilities, an exciting opportunity came along!
So on Monday, I will be starting a new career as the compliance and CRA officer for one of our better local banks. It is a medium sized bank for the area, 12 branches, and locally headquartered. I've not done bank compliance work before, so I'll have a pretty steep learning curve, but I'm actually looking forward to doing something different and learning new things. The skills I've learned as an attorney are perfectly suited for the job (I am in charge of making sure the bank complies with the myriad of state and Federal regulations which apply, and will set policies, conduct training, and prepare for bank examiner audits). It will also be nice, for a change, to have only one "client" to worry about. Not to mention regular hours ("bankers hours"
) a regular paycheck, great benefits including medical, dental, vision, group life insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation and a nice retirement package.
I expect my new job will keep me very busy for the next six months or so as I come up to speed. I also suspect there won't be a lot of time for surfing the 'net while I'm at work, so you may not see as much of me here as you have in the past. I'll check in from time to time, though, because you all are my family. No cold turkey for me.
So it is with mixed feelings of excitement, nervousness, and even a little sadness that I begin the task of winding up my practice and referring my clients off to other attorneys. I hope to have everything shut down by the end of the year - this is a business that I can't just close the door and walk away from. I anticipate a lot of evening and weekend work to get this practice closed up while I'm working on my new "day job."
I've been a lawyer for 18 years now, and self employed for the last 13 years. I've enjoyed many aspects of the profession, helping my clients most of all, and I will miss my many loyal clients; some of whom have become good friends in over the years.
Self-employment has some benefits - no boss to report to (except myself, and I can be pretty tough on myself) and some freedom of scheduling, etc. It also has a down side - no medical benefits (except at a very high cost), no paid sick time, no paid vacation, and the hours can be very long at times. When you're ultimately responsible and the work needs to get done - guess who does it?
I can truly say that my OHS last February gave me both the time and the inclination to think about where my life was going, and to ponder other possibilities. Although I wasn't actively looking for a new situation, I was open to it. And as so often happens when we're open to new possibilities, an exciting opportunity came along!
So on Monday, I will be starting a new career as the compliance and CRA officer for one of our better local banks. It is a medium sized bank for the area, 12 branches, and locally headquartered. I've not done bank compliance work before, so I'll have a pretty steep learning curve, but I'm actually looking forward to doing something different and learning new things. The skills I've learned as an attorney are perfectly suited for the job (I am in charge of making sure the bank complies with the myriad of state and Federal regulations which apply, and will set policies, conduct training, and prepare for bank examiner audits). It will also be nice, for a change, to have only one "client" to worry about. Not to mention regular hours ("bankers hours"
) a regular paycheck, great benefits including medical, dental, vision, group life insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation and a nice retirement package.I expect my new job will keep me very busy for the next six months or so as I come up to speed. I also suspect there won't be a lot of time for surfing the 'net while I'm at work, so you may not see as much of me here as you have in the past. I'll check in from time to time, though, because you all are my family. No cold turkey for me.
So it is with mixed feelings of excitement, nervousness, and even a little sadness that I begin the task of winding up my practice and referring my clients off to other attorneys. I hope to have everything shut down by the end of the year - this is a business that I can't just close the door and walk away from. I anticipate a lot of evening and weekend work to get this practice closed up while I'm working on my new "day job."
