LawyersUSA

When San Diego lawyer Ken Turek and his wife, Susan, travel to South Africa next month, they won't be alone.

All four of Turek's partners and their wives will join them on what has become an annual trek to exotic locales around the world. Over the past 21 years, they've traveled through Europe together, explored New Zealand and Australia, cruised the Caribbean and wined and dined in Tuscany. They've vacationed in Tahiti, Bora Bora and Hawaii, as well.

This year, the gang from Endeman, Lincoln, Turek & Heater – a mid-sized business and real estate firm in San Diego – is going on its most adventurous trip yet: the MalaMala wilderness camp in South Africa.

Turek is looking forward to the remoteness of the experience. There are no phones or televisions and no Internet access. Four-wheel drive safari vehicles transport campers into the 40,000-acre, private MalaMala Game Reserve where bush guides lead walks out into big game country.

"They take you out into the bush before it becomes light," Turek explained. "It's going to be pretty interesting, I'm sure."

Ron Endeman, who was senior partner at the time, started the vacation tradition when the firm was founded in 1987. Endeman, a world traveler, suggested that all the partners and their wives go to Hawaii together. The next year they traveled together through Italy, France, Switzerland and England.

The couples all got along and enjoyed traveling together; the joint vacations quickly became a tradition.

"We had so much fun, we just started expanding it," Turek said. "It's something to look forward to, and it's kind of bonding."

Although Endeman is now retired, the tradition continues with the current five partners. Although there have been times when one of the partners couldn't make it, they try to arrange their schedules so that the firm's associates can manage without them.

The group leaves May 21 for the two-week South African trip. They'll spend a few days in Cape Town and Johannesburg, then fly in a small plane for a five-day stay at the MalaMala camp.

Turek plans to buy a new camera to shoot pictures of wildlife on the reserve, which is home to lions, leopards, buffalo, rhinos, elephants and cheetahs. He also hopes to write an article about the insights he gains from living in the wilderness.

"I'm hoping to address issues related to the transitions we go through in our careers, since I've been giving that a lot of thought lately," Turek said in an e-mail.

In addition to his legal career, Turek is a comic writer and performer who does standup at several comedy clubs in San Diego. He also lectures on lawyer happiness and is passionate about the need for lawyers to have a balance in their lives. The American Bar Association recently invited him to speak on the subject to a group of young lawyers on May 1 in Las Vegas.

Turek said he advises those new to the legal profession on "how to keep their perspectives in their practices and some of the pitfalls you might run into."

"I talk about balance, and how to maintain it," he said.

Questions or comments can be directed to the writer at: Nora.Tooher@lawyersusaonline.com