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&lt;p&gt;Randy Wilson, a judge in the 157th District Court in Texas, wrote a letter to his two children, both of whom are starting their careers as lawyers.  With their permission, he submitted the letter to &lt;em&gt;Texas Lawyer&lt;/em&gt; magazine.  His note includes many valuable insights and pieces of advice for soon-to-be law school grads, recent JDs and lawyers of any age.  I&#39;ve included two of his gems below.  Happy Holidays!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;&quot;A Letter to the Next Generation of Lawyers&quot;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;p&gt;Law school teaches basic fundamentals and critical thinking, yet you still have much to learn about the tactics and nuances of the practice.  The subtleties require a lifetime of study with the assurance they will never be mastered.  You face a long yet thrilling road...&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Be proud to be a lawyer&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We are bombarded with lawyer jokes and ridicule.  We laugh politely at the jokes, and, I have to confess, I have told a few myself.  Don&#39;t do it.  For hundreds of years, society considered the law a noble profession, and lawyers have been the stalwarts of defending legal rights.  Lawyers desegregated the schools and improved product safety.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Even the most vocal of lawyer bashers are the first to call a lawyer when they feel their rights are being trampled upon.  And finally, don&#39;t forget that the most famous lawyer bash--&quot;[t]he first thing we do, let&#39;s kill all the lawyers&quot;--was actually an acknowledgement by Shakespeare in &quot;Henry VI, Part II&quot; that lawyers must be eliminated in order to achieve a revolution.  Be proud to be a lawyer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Take the long view&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You&#39;re going to be in this game for the long haul.  There&#39;s no shortcut that&#39;s worth it--never.  If you have a bad document, produce it.  If your client is lying to make his case, fire him.  Compromising your conscience just is not worth it.  There will be other cases.  It&#39;s a clich&amp;eacute;, but it&#39;s true: A legal career is a marathon, not a race.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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