Patrick A. Haggerty Authors Article in the New Jersey Law Journal, “From the Pitch to the Practice: How Professional Soccer Taught Me the Power of Poise in High-Stakes Lawyering”
While the physical attributes required of a seasoned soccer player may not be applicable in the context of the practice of law, many of the required mental characteristics of an elite soccer player transfer directly to a successful career as a practicing attorney.
8 minute read April 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM
By Patrick A. Haggerty
Upon initial reflection, one might conclude that the traits that define a good soccer player could not be more different from those traits required to make a good attorney. While the physical attributes required of a seasoned soccer player may not be applicable in the context of the practice of law, many of the required mental characteristics of an elite soccer player transfer directly to a successful career as a practicing attorney.
By way of background, my soccer career began as a boy in Lawrenceville, New Jersey playing in the township recreational league. As my skills on the soccer field improved over time, I transitioned from playing on a local club soccer team to a nationally-recognized club soccer team, which led to my recruitment and enrollment as a member of the Boston College men’s soccer team. Following my graduation from Boston College, I signed as a free agent with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. While my path to the MLS may sound linear, in reality, it was neither linear nor simple. I worked tirelessly to improve my technical ability, I persevered through injuries, emotional ups and downs, and coaching changes, all while competing with and against a countless number of talented players who were fighting to earn the same spot on the team roster.
To some extent, the pathway to becoming a successful lawyer involves similar tenacity, steady technical improvement, patience and resilience. As I reflect on my transition from a career as a professional soccer player to becoming a practicing attorney, several more specific themes have been prevalent both on the soccer field and in the corporate office. First, as a soccer player, a large part of my success derived from practicing hard and always being prepared to play when the coach called my number. In the context of my legal practice, I work diligently to remain technically adept in document drafting, to always be at the forefront of the trends within my legal practice, and to be extremely responsive to client needs. Second, as a central defender on the soccer field, I built my career around the concept of doing the simple things impeccably well. While I did not play with the flair of many of the most exciting players, I rarely misplaced a pass, always prided myself on astute defensive positioning, communicated clearly with teammates, and minimized mental mistakes. I have embraced the same initiative within my legal practice, where I always make sure to understand my client’s overall goals within any transaction, focus on the key issues within any deal, endeavor to communicate clearly and effectively with clients, colleagues and adversaries, and negotiate and draft documentation as precisely and efficiently as possible. Third, my soccer career was likely enhanced by my ability to be a good teammate, which included remaining positive even in the face of disappointment in stressful moments. As a lawyer, I always aim to treat clients, colleagues and adversaries alike with the utmost respect even in the face of challenges or divergent goals. In my view, being a good teammate also includes a desire and willingness to constantly want to improve your craft and that includes openly accepting the views, opinions, and criticisms of others. But of all of the traits that shaped my soccer career and later enabled me to successfully build a second career as a transactional attorney, I most value one single trait—poise.
People often ask me what changes the most for a player as he or she transitions from the youth soccer level to the collegiate level and then to the professional level. For me, the answer is clear: the increasing speed of play. As a player climbs levels, amidst significantly increasing physicality, the ball moves from player to player at breakneck pace and even the smallest of mistakes are often punished by clinical opponents. But when I refer to “speed of play,” the make-it or break-it trait that tends to be very uncommon amongst soccer players is the ability to quickly and efficiently read the game in order to understand where to play the ball, where to move without the ball, and how to offensively and defensively see plays happen two-to-three passes into the future. Without this ability to mentally process the game at an elite level, even the most physically gifted soccer players cannot ascend to the professional level. For me, as a central defender, my job was to sniff out and diffuse present and future danger in the form of attacking opponents before conceding opportunities, or worse, goals. While I was blessed with certain physical talents as a soccer player, I viewed my “superpower” as having an ability to remain calm under the most stressful of moments within the game. When the game was moving at its fastest and the stakes were highest, I was able to remain calm under pressure and to, hopefully, perform at my best in the big moments. To me, this defined “poise” on the soccer field: while the high-pressure moments moved at an increased speed of play, I mentally slowed the moment down by remaining calm and not panicking under the weight of the moment. This allowed me to be a key contributor to the team while minimizing the mistakes that I find often occur as a result of panic.
As a transactional attorney, I am regularly involved in structuring and negotiating complex commercial real estate transactions and financings, among a litany of other types of transactional matters. While my real estate deals may not be playing out live in front of thousands of viewers, all lawyers understand and appreciate the stress and, sometimes, tension of a tough negotiation. Like on the soccer field, deals move quickly, document mark-ups fly back and forth, and precise lawyering is paramount. Just as I trained diligently to prepare myself for the stressful moments in a soccer game, I spent countless hours developing my lawyering skills to be prepared for the tensest moments in the timeline of any deal. It is the same poise that I counted on as an elite soccer player that I now count on as a lawyer—when the moments are most stressful and when the stakes are the highest, I remain calm and try to slow down the moment in an effort to be thoughtful, precise and exacting when preparing documentation or negotiating a deal. Like a good central defender, a good lawyer anticipates the challenges of a deal before they arise and smoothly sweeps away the danger in a manner favorable to his or her team. As on the soccer field, I always aim to practice with precision and speed, but, perhaps most importantly, to operate with the type of poise that clients cherish, colleagues appreciate, and adversaries respect.
I have two boys that are beginning their respective climbs in the soccer world, but I rarely provide too much feedback following a game other than to say that “I am proud of you,” “you played a really great game,” or “that was fun to watch.” They are each developing their own physical and technical skills, and just like any other soccer player, they will each experience highs and lows, have strengths and weaknesses and, ultimately, their own skillsets and personalities will guide their own trajectories within the game of soccer. With that said, I have offered the boys advice with certain of the principles derived from my experiences as a soccer player that have also helped to shape my career as a lawyer:
- Practice and prepare your hardest so that you always feel prepared in the most stressful of moments.
- Do simple impeccably well.
- Always be a good teammate.
- Let your mind slow down in stressful moments when the rest of your body might be telling you to speed up.
While these principles have been central to my development as both an athlete and a lawyer, my boys, like many others, will ultimately identify their own set of guiding principles that are transferable from the athletics field to so many other professional and non-professional life pursuits.
Patrick A. Haggerty serves as co-chair of the commercial real estate practice at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden. Drawing upon his industry insight from private practice and prior in-house leadership and investment banking experience, he advises developers, investors, lenders, and institutions on complex real estate transactions, financings, and land banking matters nationwide. He may be reached at phaggerty@pashmanstein.com
Reprinted with permission from the April 10, 2026 edition of the “New Jersey Law Journal” © 2026 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com.
To read the full article in the New Jersey Law Journal, click here.
