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My second life: trial lawyers are a passionate breed - they care deeply about their clients and spend long days seeking justice for them. But all work and no play can make any lawyer dull indeed. Here, four attorneys share how their pursuit of passions other than the law helps them achieve a more balanced and fulfilled life.

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Transformed by fire

ANDREW (DUKE) MALONEY

I found my other calling by accident. In 1999, my parents' house (the one I spent 10 years living in) burned to the ground in a fire. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but I will never forget the flames destroying the house and nearly everything inside it.

I lived about 15 minutes away and was roused out of bed by the local police department. By the time I got to the house, my mother was taking comfort at a neighbor's home, and my father and sister were being treated at a hospital for minor smoke inhalation and burns.

I tried to enter the still-burning house to pull memorabilia out but was stopped by the fire chief while some 20 or 30 firefighters battled the blaze. Not being able to act was frustrating. But much to my surprise, once the firefighters realized they were going to lose the house, they assigned part of their crew to bring pictures, heirlooms, a grandfather clock, and other mementos out of the house and lay them on the front lawn so they could be salvaged. I had never seen this before.

The firefighters had risked their own safety to fight a fire, ensuring that the house was clear of victims. But with the fire still out of control, they began saving memories for my family. Most of them were local volunteer firefighters who lived in the community but did not know my family. Some were career firefighters. All of them cared.

It was not long after the fire that I vowed I would help others as I had been helped. I joined my local fire department as a volunteer. Heck, I always wanted to ride on the big red fire trucks with sirens and lights anyway.

But I soon learned that it would not be all fun and games. I had lots of training to do, tests--including a physical-to take, and several months of classroom and practical lessons to complete before I could become a licensed fire fighter. These would be followed by weekly training exercises and, of course, real emergencies. How would I find the time? I work as a lawyer by day--and too often at night--and commute between my home in the suburbs and my office in New York City. I am married with three young children. How could I be a firefighter too?

This time crunch would be a constant problem, but I learned it was also a surmountable one. My fire department has a combination crew of career and volunteer firefighters. Each of the town's seven firehouses has two career firefighters who stay there 24/7; they are supported by 20 or more volunteers who have received the same training, perform the same tasks, and respond to a one-way radio pager.

I was welcomed because the more volunteers they have, the more the work can be spread around. Therefore, the company does not have to rely on any one member--like me--who, because of work and family commitments, cannot serve as often as others who do not have these obligations.

There were unanticipated benefits. I was getting to know people in the new town that we had moved to only two years earlier. Within a few months with the fire department, I had made friends with local garage mechanics, truck drivers, police officers, the town attorney, and even other lawyers who were in my fire company.

Despite my long work...

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