Law & Fitness: Disparate But Equal

Growing up as a classically trained musician and dancer, I established a deep connection to the life of an artist. I loved language and started learning French in third grade. I also recall so much excitement as a fifth grader at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools when I advocated for Martin Luther in a mock Diet of Worms trial – in the English language, to be clear.

As a young girl, I was aware of the ongoing right-brain/left-brain tension I experienced but only thought it was acceptable as a “good girl” and a good little Black girl from Chicago, to boot, to pick one path out of this binary construct of how we should live our lives. I was drawn to medical school because my father was an ophthalmologist but I also felt a pull to law school.

Winning the Cornell University Moot Court oral argument in my first year as an undergraduate answered the question I often asked myself on whether law school was for me. After that competition, I knew I loved the tedious preparation and dynamic performance of it all. And fortunately, as I matured, I learned in the truest sense that life doesn't have to be "either/or"; it can be "both/and."

Fast forward to today, as I now lead the securities law compliance and corporate governance practice and manage Townsend & Lockett’s Chicago office. During my spare time – if you can call it that – I’m the Chief Movement Officer for my own health and fitness company, where I lead and coach organizations, individuals and small groups in Chicago, Des Moines, online, and around the world, to become stronger versions of themselves.

While seemingly disparate, there are some surprising similarities between practicing law and running a fitness business. For example, both can be highly rewarding because helping clients achieve their desired outcomes can be incredibly satisfying for both lawyers and fitness professionals.

Both also require ethical behavior, as maintaining ethical standards is crucial in both professions to building trust and credibility. And both can be demanding, requiring long hours, hard work and dedication to achieve success.

Over the past two decades as a lawyer and fitness professional, I’ve found several other similarities as well:

• Building Relationships: Lawyers and fitness professionals rely on building trust with clients so that they can forge long-term relationships. Building that relationship requires understanding your client’s needs, goals and challenges.
• Communication & Persuasion: A good lawyer – like a good fitness trainer – must know how to communicate effectively, clearly explain complex concepts, and persuade clients to make recommendations about their businesses and their most effective wellness path taking into account mind and body.
• Problem-Solving & Strategy: In both careers, you must be equipped to analyze situations, identify solutions, and develop winning strategies – whether it's helping to craft a venture capital deal or a fitness regimen.
• Understanding Individual Needs: A big key to success as a lawyer or a fitness pro is to tailor your advice to an individual’s needs. It is that personalized approach that wins over clients and allows you to focus on the right legal strategy or most efficient movement modality.
• Marketing & Sales: At the gym or the law office, I need to have my marketing and sales hat on at all times. That means constantly reviewing and reaching out to my target audience, creating compelling messaging for them, and finding creative ways to stay on their radar.
• Critical Thinking and Analysis: As a lawyer, I analyze legal precedents and deal documents to build the best recommendation for a client. As a fitness pro, I analyze my client’s fitness goals, their physical condition and exercise principles and training protocols based on studies to design effective training programs.
• Adapting through Life Cycles: The law business is all about adapting to strategic pivots in a matter, the everyday tasks at hand, and of course developments in the law, legal interpretations and late-night requests from clients. Similarly, fitness pros must adapt based on a client’s progress, unexpected injuries, “when life happens,” and new fitness trends. Continuing education is a critical part of delivering a stellar experience on the law or fitness side. Sometimes you have to regress a fitness client in order to progress, while on the legal side, it may be time to reformulate what “winning” looks like for a transaction or litigation matter.

The specific skills and knowledge across the law and fitness industries have striking differences and even more variation within each legal practice area or movement modality. Nevertheless, the core principles of delighting clients and maintaining a sophisticated business acumen with a winning attitude create a surprising overlap between seemingly diverse fields.

In the end, the desire for great impact in both is evident which makes every day that much more fulfilling. Every day is not the same but my dedication to both is equally meaningful.

Mackenzie Phillips is Managing Partner of Townsend Lockett’s Chicago office and oversees the firm’s securities law compliance and corporate governance practice. She also is owner of Maeve40 Fitness, where she coaches organizations, individuals and small groups in Chicago, Des Moines and around the world.