Episode 128-Here Comes the Judge- the Honorable Paul Wilson (ret.)

For a long time, I’ve been meaning to invite a judge onto Counsel to Counsel to talk about judicial careers.  Going on the bench is a logical next step for many litigators and I wanted to speak to a judge who could offer some practical wisdom on the subject. When I met Paul Wilson at an ABA conference in late 2022, I realized right away that I had a great prospect.  At the time, Paul was still sitting on the bench, so we decided to wait until he reached mandatory retirement. Paul is in fact now retired; but he remains very active in a number of law related activities. In this episode, Paul shares his wisdom on judicial careers.  What does it mean to transition from litigator to judge?  What are the pluses?  What are the potential minuses?  And how do you position yourself for a judgeship? In the Spring of 2023, The Honorable Paul Wilson retired from the Massachusetts Superior Court, the highest trial court in the Commonwealth.  He sat for over a decade on the Superior Court after being in private practice for 30 years at the law firm of Mintz Levin. Paul spent most of his career doing real estate, land use, and environmental litigation.  He has always had a strong commitment to public service and has received a number of awards for his pro bono and volunteer efforts.

Om Podcasten

Counsel to Counsel is a periodic podcast produced by Stephen Seckler of Seckler Attorney Coaching (www.counseltocounsel.com). It addresses important career, marketing, and leadership issues facing attorneys. The target audience is associates, counsel and partners at law firms of all sizes; but the podcast also addresses issues that are relevant to in-house counsel, law students or any lawyer who is looking for career insights inside or outside of the law. Counsel to Counsel is aimed at individual lawyers who are looking to increase their own career satisfaction and build their marketing and leadership skills. The podcast features interviews with leading consultants, career professionals and marketing experts who advise attorneys on careers, marketing, law firm management and related issues. The guests are also a roster of successful attorneys who have found career satisfaction inside and outside the law. Counsel to Counsel is a direct outgrowth of the blog Counsel to Counsel which Stephen Seckler has been publishing since 2005. Since graduating from law school in the late 1980s, Stephen Seckler has been advising lawyers on career and marketing issues and working with a broad mix of law firms and corporate law departments. He began blogging when legal blogging was in its infancy and his blog Counsel to Counsel was named to the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 in 2007 and 2008 (the first two years that list was in existence). Steve has written extensively on career and marketing issues and he has spoken at many law school, law firm and bar association events. He served on the Boston Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Work Life Balance and was Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association. He is active in the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, the ProVisors business network, and has been quoted frequently in the legal and business press.