Legal Career Lessons From the Parent of an Olympic Athlete
Witnessing my daughter Hadley’s journey to become a world-class épée fencer has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Her dedication, perseverance, and talent inspire me, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to play a supportive role in her efforts. Most recently, I was able to travel to Paris to cheer Hadley on as she represented the United States in the Paris Olympics.
As I shared in the recent Duly Noted blog post, my experience as a Foley partner has been invaluable in helping shape how I support Hadley in her fencing career, and vice versa:
Recognizing your areas of competence. Although I’ve seen my daughter fence thousands of bouts, I recognize that I can’t hold a candle to people who spend their lifetimes learning to be a coach, so I viewed my role as finding the right coach for her and then stepping aside to let him guide her training. The same principle applies here at Foley. While I’ve spent 35 years counseling companies on international trade issues, that doesn’t mean that my experience extends to every client need, so I’ve learned to be objective and know when to bring in a colleague with different subject matter expertise.
Allow people to succeed on their own terms. I have seen far too many promising young fencers — who often have parents who fenced or who are even fencing coaches — get burned out by being pushed too hard or by being forced to fence exactly the way their parents do. I learned early that it was important to empower Hadley to take ownership of her fencing career, so that she was choosing how hard to work, when to practice, and when to move up to a new fencing level. Similarly, you can’t make young attorneys do things your way. You instead provide them with the tools and opportunities to succeed while allowing them to develop their own unique style.
You don’t have to be No. 1 to be a winner. I’ve learned over the years that I don’t have to be the world’s best attorney to have a successful, thriving career. I just need to keep my clients happy and feeling that I understand their issues, how their business and industry work, and how to solve their problems, while consistently growing the practice. It’s the growth and improvement that matters. The same was true for Hadley, who finished dead last in her first national tournament and didn’t medal at a national tournament for three years, gradually working herself up to becoming a five-time U.S. national champion, a two-time Junior World Champion, and now an Olympian.
You can pursue professional and personal goals simultaneously: Foley has allowed me to balance my professional and personal responsibilities, making it possible for me to be a successful attorney while also being a dedicated and supportive parent. I’ve never had to choose between the two. You don’t have to sacrifice your passions for your profession.
You can never have too much sports memorabilia. Anyone who has seen my office knows this!
