I always wanted to be a lawyer. My father graduated from the YMCA Night Law School in 1942. Growing up, two good friends had fathers who were lawyers. I married a law school classmate (Lisa, my wife, is now a psychoanalyst!). 
I graduated from U.C. Law School in 1980. I taught skills courses there to first-year law students for a year. After teaching, I worked for a small firm and then joined Graydon Head & Ritchey in 1998 (now Bricker Graydon Wyatt LLP), retiring in September 2025. I mainly practiced in litigation, bankruptcy, and real estate. I spent a lot of time doing case law updates at seminars in each of the latter two fields, itself a form of teaching, which I really enjoyed.

What Has Changed
Experienced lawyers often talk about the early use of an IBM Selectric as a word processor, their first fax machine, their first computer and life before cell phones. I recall the early travel to hearings in Lexington, Dayton, Columbus, etc. for hearings in bankruptcy court, undisturbed by using a cell phone. I would listen to the radio or music on the trip and enjoyed the break from “doing work.” I would call back to the office for my messages, and use a pay phone, to return calls. 
As the use of technology has changed, the increased speed of the practice of law has been apparent. Electronic filing (adopted early in federal court) meant filings could occur at any time of the day or night. Seemingly constant communications by email insured it was difficult to set a boundary between work life and personal time. Then clients started texting.
The “speeding up” of the practice of law changed me and the lawyers around me. A sense of urgency now blanketed everything clients asked of us. The time for being immersed in family life, friendships, outside reading, moments of reflection, and even fitness became much harder to obtain.
The pandemic also taught us to be “remote.” The satisfaction of working with people in person was lost while the speed and efficiency of virtual practice was gained. 
I was involved in a recent contentious Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Brooklyn, which lasted 15 months, regarding a Cincinnati hotel. The case was conducted entirely by Zoom. I never appeared in the Brooklyn courtroom. I would never have met the judge in person had I not met her at a bankruptcy conference, mid-case. I had a great discussion with her. The practice of law needs human interaction along with Zoom’s efficiency. 

What Has Never Changed (and I Hope Does Not)
Local bankruptcy lawyers have a saying: We can disagree but not be disagreeable. Except on exceedingly rare occasions, I have had a wonderful, collegial relationship with the lawyers I practiced with, and against, throughout the region. It may be the nature of our practice, adversarial but “litigation lite,” or that some lawyers may represent a debtor one day and a creditor the next. It could be the relative speed at which negotiations occur and matters are concluded. 
I also have an appreciation for the men and women of the bankruptcy bench before whom I have appeared. I was always treated with courtesy and respect by them in the courtroom. My discussions outside of the courtroom with them were friendly and professional. Their hard work, and friendship, made my bankruptcy practice very rewarding. 
What I hope does not change is the opportunity for genuine, meaningful relationships with other lawyers and judges. 

J. Michael Debbeler is a retired partner with Bricker Graydon Wyatt LLP and the owner of Debbeler Law LLC.