Tag Archives: rock

Law, Rock, and Motorcycles

Mark J. Bamberger, Ph.D., J.D.
The Mark Bamberger Co., LLC

My main law office has three primary themes; law practice stuff, rock & roll music, and motorcycle models and pictures. It is an odd concoction for some, but not really, if you think of it. The commonality is passion.
I practice law with heartfelt passion for our clients. Lets be clear, I could not afford to do this for free and I do have a fondness for being able to eat and otherwise feed and clothe my family. But at The Mark J. Bamberger, Co., we have a history of taking on cases that might not be the easiest or safest moneymakers. It can be stressful as heck, but personally, I have always liked underdogs. I am a franchise-long Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, for goodness sake! As fair as the American common law legal system can be, it is not really as equal as the scales of justice might infer. Money buys power and influence; no doubt about that. Yet, don’t you agree that there is something honorable about the single guy or gal going up against the multi-national corporation; and sometimes winning? We empathize with our clients as much as we can and battle for them. This means I will likely never be rich, but boy do I sleep peacefully at night.

Growing up and coming of age in the 1970’s, my soundtrack is steeped in classic rock. I respect jazz, classical, even some hip hop; but I consistently come back home again. It was on when I studied in high school, then college, then graduate school, then law school. It is on these days when I write briefs and prepare for trials and do accounting and paperwork around my offices. You get the point. Having always fought ADHD (we called it “hyperactivity” back in the day), the music always shot down all the distracting thoughts constantly cruising through my brain and thus allowed me to focus on the task at bar. When my daughters became able to distinguish between AC/DC and The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and Def Leppard, I knew my job as a parent was done.

I came to motorcycling relatively late in life. Before the age of 40, I had no interest. Then like a light switch, something got turned on in my brain and my heart. I saw one of my vendors coming to meetings on a shiny green 2001 Kawasaki Ninja and, boom, my life changed. This is not hyperbole, and that by the way became my first motorcycle. Other than my family, motorcycling is one of the strongest passions of my life. In just over 13 years I have logged more than 75,000 miles. Two-thirds of those have come in the past three years on my beloved 2000 Honda Goldwing; she’s named “The Blue Mistress”. Bikers know Goldwings; great big, incredibly well designed and comfy rides that eat up miles like aardvarks gobble up ants. I could write books on the joy of a 3,000-mile motorcycle trip; the freedom, the meditation, the “Carpe Diem”. Lets just say that some think about breathing. I think about riding tomorrow; then the day after that.

The commonality is passion. The music ushers me through the pressures of my work life as it does through mile after mile after mile on my bike. The dangers of riding equalize the pressures of a stressful second career; my law practice. In law school I once asked a professor why so many lawyers have drug and/or alcohol problems. Given her academic bent, she could not answer. After starting to practice law as what I thought of as a thoughtful and engaged attorney, it became quite clear.
Client problems become my problems. It can be corrosive and engulfing. Away from the practice, some lawyers drink or take too many pills or have affairs. I listen to classic rock and ride my motorcycle.