Published by Smith & Associates on November 18th, 2016
Do your kids know where you work? Do they know what you do there?
Last month, I brought my children to explore our brand-new New Jersey office, at 1135 Clifton Avenue, Suite 104. I was a little worried, at first, that they wouldn’t find anything interesting to do there, but that concern evaporated even before we stepped inside.
“Wow, look; your name’s on the door!” my daughter shouted excitedly.
We stopped and I pointed out the letters to the younger kids. Having my name on the sign may make me a hero to them, but for me it means that whatever goes on inside, I’m responsible for making sure we’re doing the best job for our clients.
After they’d gotten over how nice the new space was, I took them on a tour. We stopped to say hello to some people who work in the office. Everybody was glad to see the kids, and I think it’s also important for the children to notice that I don’t work alone. I’m surrounded by this wonderful team, who helps me accomplish everything I do.
On our tour, we stopped in at the meeting room, where they sat around the big round table and tested out the speakerphone and comfortable chairs. One of the kids asked if we could get chairs just like them at home – and a speakerphone so they could make calls all at once.
Heading into the big legal library, with its hundreds of volumes, my son asked, “Have you read all these books?”
I couldn’t help laughing, imagining the years it would take to read them all cover to cover. “No,” I said, honestly. But I did explain what the books are for_ we need to research and understand every law and previous court case that could affect our clients.
Finally, we wound up the tour in my office, where they first pretended they were clients, then took over my chair. I showed them the snack stash and they practiced signing their name with my fountain pen.
For a lot of us, our children have only a vague sense of what we do when we’re not with them. But there are so many lessons kids can learn from visiting their parents’ workplace. Sure, it’s fun playing around (I can’t believe I was worried that they’d be bored!) but I think there’s an important message there, too.
As an attorney, I love what I do. And I’m thrilled that we’re now able to welcome clients in this comfortable new location. I’m also proud of my work, and happy to share it with my kids.
The inner workings of our firm—like our ethical standards, our commitment to our staff and our clients, the hard work, dealing with challenges—cannot be communicated in a brief visit. These are values that I aim to communicate to my children through stories of my work on their level as they get older. These lessons are part of my responsibility to teach them how to make their way in the world in whatever way they choose to make a living.
And who knows? Maybe one of them will decide to be a lawyer someday, too.
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