Rick Garnett on the Rehnquist Funeral

Former Rehnquist clerk and current Notre Dame Law Professor Rick Garnett blogs at Mirror of Justice about the funeral of Chief Justice Rehnquist, which he attended:

It was, in a way, a happy (though sad) event. A celebration of a live lived fully and well.

One theme came up, again and again: The Chief Justice worried often that too many lawyers did a bad job of finding balance in their lives, and that they were unhappy because they did not remember that their families and loved ones were the most important things. Good advice for law students.

My Comments:
Lawyers do need to remember to keep some perspective about what is most important in life. One reason I no longer practice law is because the profession tends to be all-consuming, and spending time with family and friends (and not grinding my teeth while I slept at night due to stress) was just more important to me than the money and status of a career in the big firm.

It is a tribute to Chief Justice Rehnquist that he encouraged lawyers to remember this.

UPDATE:
Please go over to Amy Welborn's post on this subject and read the first comment from "Jim". It is the best testimonial for Rehnquist that I have ever read.