Why I Quit Practicing Law—and Why I’ll Never Give Up My License

This essay appeared in the November 19, 2016 issue of the Oklahoma Bar Journal. It can be found at the following link (you'll need to scroll all the way down to page 2392): http://www.okbar.org/Portals/13/PDF/OBJ/2016/OBJ2016Nov19.pdf

Why I Quit Practicing Law—and Why I’ll Never Give Up My License

Nothing had equipped me for law school. Despite having graduated with honor from college, I was totally unprepared for the sheer volume of work and intense stress levels law school threw at me. By the end of first semester I felt that my mind would not hold one single additional piece of information. I had no idea how I would make it through another five semesters—I only knew I had to. Not because I absolutely had to be a lawyer, but because there was no way I could ever justify having put that much effort into something only to throw it away.

Thirty years later, I still feel the same. Nonetheless, a few years ago, I decided to close my practice and reclaim my artistic side, which was all but lost when I gave up music for law school.

The decision to stop practicing law wasn’t easy. My law practice, small though it was, represented a series of hard-won victories—and I don’t mean the kind fought in a courtroom.  My career started out slowly, derailed by a devastating car wreck that almost killed me two weeks after the bar exam. Jobs for recent graduates were scarce; jobs for a recent graduate in a wheelchair who couldn’t work 40 hours a week, much less 70, even scarcer. I had to find my own clients, one at a time.

Personal injury was a natural choice; I knew the plaintiff’s side all too intimately. I helped injured people and I felt good about it. As I healed, my practice grew. But over the years, civil law seemed to grow less civil. I became disillusioned.

Then I began to write. Late at night, there were no anxious clients or obnoxious insurance adjusters. The only sound was the quiet tapping of keys as ideas flew from my fingers, sprouted wings and soared over the page. It felt almost like falling in love—the breathless anticipation of not knowing where the words would go, only that, once written, they took on a life of their own. After a while, I had to admit it was what I needed to do for a living.

People don’t always understand what I do, so I describe it this way: I’m a freelance writer and blogger for publications, corporations, and professionals—anyone who needs writing help with online content, especially lawyers. For fun, I also write songs and occasionally gig for tips, singing and playing piano. It’s good to hear the muse again.

Though there were many things about practicing law that I enjoyed, closing my law practice allowed me to find a part of myself that I had lost. And as long as I pay my bar dues every year, I can still call myself a lawyer. Being a lawyer is who I am, whether I practice law or not. I worked too hard earning that title to ever give it up. 

Health Savings Accounts: Stop Fearing High Deductibles and Start Saving

It seems these days that no one can agree on what to do about US health care coverage. The one thing everybody can agree on, however, is that the cost of health care and health insurance keeps going up. Premiums, deductibles, co-pays, non-covered expenses—it all adds up to a very expensive attempt to stay healthy.

As health care costs explode, many people are looking to lower their health insurance premiums with higher deductibles. While premiums on high-deductible plans are more affordable, the large deductibles can make depending on your health insurance for coverage scary. One way to pay for deductibles and other expenses not covered by those high-deductible health plans is with a Health Savings Account (HSA).

What is a Health Savings Account?

HSAs were created by the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act to help individuals save for qualified medical expenses on a tax-free basis. You can also use the money in your HSA for certain other health services your policy doesn’t cover—like those pesky co-pays—and as a savings vehicle for retirement.

Why You Should Consider HSAs

The “savings” in HSAs covers more than merely hoarding some cash for a rainy day. Here are some important ways a Health Savings Account can help you save money both short- and long-term.

1. Tax-deductible savings – As with IRAs, the money you sock away in your HSA is tax-deductible. You can contribute up to $3,400 as an individual, or $6,750 for family coverage in 2017. If you’re 55 or more, you can play catch-up with an added $1,000 contribution per year.

2. Tax-free withdrawals – As long as you use the money for “qualified medical expenses,” you’ll pay no tax on what you take out. These expenses include vision and dental, doctor visits, physical therapy, hearing aids and other medical devices, among many others. Check with the IRS for rules on what qualifies.

3. Tax-free growth – Leaving the money in your account, if you can afford to, and letting it grow over the years will give you a nice nest-egg by the time you retire. If you wait till age 65 to withdraw it, you can use the money on anything you like, just paying taxes on it like normal income. If you use it on qualified medical expenses, there’s no tax on withdrawals at all. Just don’t take it to go the movies before you turn 65—you’ll pay a hefty 20% penalty on non-medical expenses in addition to the taxes!

How to Get Started

Your employer may offer plans that are HSA-eligible. Some even offer matching contributions. Absent that, if you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan, you can set up an HSA at your banking institution.

The specter of catastrophic illness or injury looms large if your health insurance coverage is inadequate or your deductibles are out of sight. With judicious use of a Health Savings Account, you can shrink that menace down to size and plan for a healthier financial future.