When I was sixteen and final exam were drawing near, my father suggested I stay home on the weekends to study a little more. One night, surrounded by a good library and next to the patio that let in the cool air and the sound of a cricket, I picked up the book that contained the biography of Ramón y Cajal. I confess the influence that the Nobel Prize still has on me to understand the sacrifice and perseverance necessary in any profession. The Navarrese scientist spent hours and hours glued to the microscope, abstracting himself from everything else because he loved what he did and had the need to investigate tirelessly. Thanks to him, histology and pathological anatomy advanced light years.

I have recently read Stefan Zweig's biography of Balzac and Ackroyd's of Dickens. Balzac and Dickens had very well organized their working days and spent hours and hours writing: the Parisian drinking torrents of coffee; and the Londoner taking long walks daily. Both triumphed and are considered two of the best writers of the 19th century. For them, writing was their passion, but they also dedicated a lot of time and effort to it. Santiago Ramón y Cajal did the same thing.

Now that some are calling for a four-day work week and a six-hour working schedule, we must warn that the legal profession requires a lot of time, and even more so in the early years. However, it is not just a matter of spending many hours at the firm, but rather that those hours are effective. If one likes his work and enjoys what he does, time will fly by.

Dedication means focusing on what is being done, taking care of something intensely. Lawyers do not go to the office to fulfill the day and then  forget everything when they leave, instead we continue to be lawyers. We will treat our profession, the legal profession, as something we love. It is what we have wanted to dedicate ourselves and dreamed of being, the most beautiful profession in the world. That is why we have to pamper it.

Arrangement is essential for a lawyer. His agenda with important dates, deadlines and appointments, in addition to other procedures. His tidy table, his files, the office in general. The organization of the day and the week will give us the necessary peace of mind to concentrate on our cases and serve our clients.

When a lawyer is recognized by other colleagues and by other jurists, when is recommended by his clients to other people who need a trusted lawyer, when enjoys prestige in his specialty, it is because he has dedicated and dedicates a lot of time to his work, lives his profession intensely and is organized. Surely that lawyer does not get up in the morning worried about not remembering if he has a trial that morning or the term of some appeal expires, or not knowing if he has appointments at the firm.

That renowned lawyer has his agenda perfectly organized and will start the day with a set schedule, just like when the week begins, even without looking at his agenda, he knows what his main occupations will be without prejudice to the changes that may occur in a profession like ours.

Just like the doctor, who knows perfectly well in advance which days he has operations and before he has prepared them meticulously, giving instructions to his team and carrying out all the necessary checks so that the operation is a success, even though it can never be guaranteed. A doctor who is not in control of what he does would not last long in his profession and specialty.

Dedication and effort to our vocation has its reward when we stop to think and look back to see everything we have achieved since we put on the robe for the first time or accepted the first case. Case by case, client by client, we have achieved two very important things: dedicate ourselves to what we like and remain in our position. We are there and professional successes can come at any time. It is a great obstacle-proof will.

The good fame and reputation of a lawyer can only be due to the fact that he has dedicated body and soul to his work. But I would not agree to apply here the saying "Create fame and go to sleep", because the good name must be maintained.