Wellness and Balance
Protecting the Team – A Firm’s Most Valuable Asset – by Encouraging Vacations
While the primary responsibility for wellness rests with the individual, nothing is more important to a law practice than its lawyers and staff. The “firm” – Big Law or a solo practice – can do nothing without people; the better those people feel, the more productive they will be, and the more profitable the firm… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and BalanceProtecting the Team – A Firm’s Most Valuable Asset – by Reducing Stress
While the primary responsibility for wellness rests with the individual, nothing is more important to a law practice than its lawyers and staff. The “firm” – Big Law or a solo practice – can do nothing without people; the better those people feel, the more productive they will be, and the more profitable the firm… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and BalanceSelf-assessment for lawyers: do I need help?
Lawyers are used to helping others with their problems. This can lead to viewing others – not ourselves – as the people with the problems. But lawyers are actually more likely than the population average to experience addiction or suffer from mental illness. Many worry that there is a potent stigma attached to being a… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and BalanceThe day-to-day stresses and challenges of being a lawyer
A sole practitioner and single mom is locked in a room in her house. Her young autistic son, outside the room, has put a chair up against the door to prevent it from opening. There is a lot of yelling and screaming. She calls 911 and the police arrive. One of the constables happens to… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and BalanceNeed something to read to avoid doing that other thing?
When tracking the causes of claims, we at LAWPRO classify certain claims as relating to problems with “time management”. These claims include losses caused by lawyer procrastination: a specific cause of loss at the root of four percent of claims (by both count and cost) over the past ten years. Would you like to be… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and Balance, Law Practice ManagementParadoxically, pessimism leads to happiness
Can pessimism lead to happiness? Conventional wisdom says no: “Research shows that an optimistic outlook is good for your mental health,” said Patricia Spataro, director of the New York State Lawyer Assistance Program, a resource for attorneys with mental health concerns. “But lawyers are trained to always look for the worst-case scenario. They benefit more… Read More »
Categories: Career Management, Wellness and Balance, Law Practice Management, Risk Management Strategies“Resilience: Facing Life’s Challenges With Courage and Conviction” by Homewood Human Solutions
A lawyer that is low on resilience is thin-skinned, defensive, and easily wounded by criticism. Even small things, such as a client or a lawyer not returning his call, will offend him. The quote above is from LAWPRO’s recent post on resilience as a part of the lawyer personality. That post explains that resilience is… Read More »
Categories: Wellness and BalanceInside the Lawyer’s Mind Part 2: Autonomy
Following up on my previous post on lawyers’ personality traits, we discuss autonomy, a trait that helps lawyers do their job but makes them poor bedfellows in a law firm environment. Dr. Larry Richard states in our LAWPRO magazine article “Herding Cats: The Lawyer Personality Revealed” that studies suggest high achieving lawyers score in the 89th… Read More »
Categories: Risk Management Strategies, Practice Aids, Career Management, Wellness and Balance, Law Practice Management, Diversity