Growing up, I had no idea I would end up being a lawyer. In high school, I was focused on math and science. I didn’t know any lawyers and never thought about the law as a career path.

In college, I took some public policy classes and became interested in education. After graduation, I worked as a teacher and later joined an organization focused on education policy. It was only then that I began to see how much power there is in understanding the law. My colleagues often talked about how they wished they had legal training or that there was a lawyer around for them to consult. I went to law school so I could become that resource. Instead, I ended up falling in love with the law.

Work-life balance is not about finding time for work and time for “life.” Being a lawyer is a core part of my identity. It is hard work and can involve long hours and lots of stress, but it is also very fulfilling. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t enjoy it. At the same time, it is important to me to be a man of faith and to spend time with the people I love. These things make me a better lawyer. I don’t see these aspects of my life as separate; for me, work-life balance is about integrating them.

I recall a project I worked on around Easter that had very tight deadlines – early mornings and all-nighters. It was important to me to celebrate the holiday at church, and my teammates encouraged me to do so. I worked until I had to leave for church and then came back to the office afterwards. I was touched that my colleagues understood what this meant to me, and it motivated me to work even harder.

Our people are really what makes working here special. Everyone I have worked with has genuinely focused on teaching and mentorship. Whenever a partner or senior associate gives me an assignment, they take the time to explain how it fits into the bigger picture. As junior lawyers, we want to have an impact – to know that the work we do is important. This culture gives us confidence that we are part of the firm’s mission and overall strategy. It inspires me to be a better lawyer, to be a fierce and effective advocate for our clients.

One of the most important concepts in the law is building on precedent – we stand on the shoulders of giants. I am where I am now because of the people who came before me. My goal is to be a giant for those who come after.

Our first collaboration with our friends at GC magazine and The Legal 500 – Advice To My Younger Self – profiled 20 highly regarded women lawyers who shared tips for success with those about to begin their own journeys. What’s exciting about Their Voices is that it flips that narrative. This time, it’s our rising lawyers helping legal industry veterans – partners, general counsel, law school professors and others – gain new insights in a world that increasingly requires fresh perspectives.

In conceptualizing this project, we started with the premise that today’s lawyers are incredibly agile – not only in their ability to work effectively from almost anywhere, but also in their openness to new ways of thinking and problem solving. From the time they were old enough to lift a mobile phone, they’ve been tied together by technology and global networks, which makes tuning out and turning off increasingly difficult. And yet, most of them manage to achieve an enviable level of balance in their lives.

Perhaps the reason this new generation of lawyers is so adept at navigating change is that rapid transformation is all they’ve ever known. Those of us further along in our careers have had to dispatch some long-held beliefs and modify our approaches to embrace a new normal. It’s not always a comfortable proposition, but we are finding our way – sometimes with help from the very people we lead.

It’s hard to believe that 2019 marks the beginning of my fourth decade as a lawyer and my twentieth year as a partner at Clifford Chance. I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot, including the importance of eschewing labels. Each generation receives its own moniker – Baby Boomer, Gen X and the like. But if this book tells us anything, it’s that lawyers of every generation have many more traits in common than differences that separate them.

I couldn’t be prouder to call the lawyers in this book my colleagues. They are bright, motivated, hard-working, client-focused and civic-minded – just like the generations that preceded them. Best of all for me as a managing partner, they are part of a much larger group of associates who have their own equally impressive stories to tell.

The profiles in Their Voices: Insights from Today’s Rising Lawyers inspire me to remain flexible and welcome what’s next. I hope this book helps you to do the same.

Evan Cohen, Americas regional managing partner, Clifford Chance