Denise Howell, one of the original lawyer bloggers and one of the most thoughtful commentators on the intersection of technology, law and life, announced over the weekend that she’s been fired. That’s a gutsy thing to do (in a similar situation, I remained silent on the subject), and her commitment to facing the uncertainties of what comes next is admirable.
Like Ernie, Denise was blogging just ahead of me, and my journey down this path has been richer for her introspection, guidance and companionship. I had a memorable dinner with Denise a few years back, and this quote from that evening stands out:
“We had a great meal, and spent much of the evening sharing stories about how our blogs had produced many unexpected surprises and gifts over the past year.”
Hard to imagine we were both just a year and change into blogging… we’re both now approaching five years online. The gifts seemed significant at the time, though now it’s almost laughable how minor they were in comparison. Yet Denise’s friendship remains one of the highlights of the last five years of blogging, and though we haven’t seen each other in a while (Gnomedex, last year?), I’m looking forward to seeing her in a couple months at the Portable Media Expo where I can buy her and Tyler a drink and catch up. Something tells me she’ll already have some great stories about what she’s doing next.
Denise: congrats, good luck, and don’t look back. Jeneane is right — you leave knowing that you did more good for your firm than they did you, and the fact that there are thousands out here who know it ought to make you smile (not as much as Tyler does, but still). Your thanks will be in the doors that open courtesy of those countless connections you’ve made over the years.
One response to “Best of luck, Denise”
Denise has done great things, and I'm sure she'll be just fine. In fact, there's no doubt in my mind that she'll be offered a new opportunity that'll be an even better fit for her.