Football coaches John Fox and Gary Kubick each have suffered serious health scares over the past week and a half. In Kubiak’s case, he had to be carted off right in the middle of a game.
For Fox, it appears that he is going to have heart surgery. As for Kubiak, a definitive report has not been issued. American society is ambivalent on overwork. On the one hand there is the phrase “hard work never killed anyone” — on the other, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Law is no stranger to this divide. Firms are eager for associates to bill numerous hours to add to the bottom line. On the other hand, hmm.
There is another hand. If you work “too” hard, your judgment can become impaired. I would like a dollar for every lawyer who thinks that she has a great case, because she has done nothing but look at it for the past year. One of my mentors was a German with a lilting Munich accent. One night (yes, night) he dropped by my office on his way home. His sage words? “ Go home Jeffrey. It is malpractice time.”