The B-Word

"I'm so 8@#&."

"How 8@#& are you right now?"

"We're all 8@#&."

🙄😣😐🤐

How 8@#& you are can make or break an associate's year, reputation, and mental health.

And yet:

Being 8@#& is not a badge of honor.

It is a crutch and it plagues the legal profession.

I've grown to hate the word and wish we could scratch it from our vernacular.

Yes, my time is often occupied.

Yes, I'm often engaged in one (professional or non-professional, billable or non-billable) thing or another.

Yes, I'm employed and sometimes wrapped up in my work.

We are all at one point or another: buried, unavailable, hustling, overloaded, persevering, swamped, on duty, up to our ears, with a full plate, and/or having many irons in the fire.

But being 8@#& does not define me, my worth, or my apparent success (or lack thereof).

Goodbye, 8@#&. See you never.