Lawyer Wellness

Top tips for lawyers who struggle with self-compassion to develop inner strength

There are three levels of positive responses to suffering. The first, sympathy, is merely the mental recognition that suffering is present. The second, empathy, includes an emotional component, with the effect that we feel for the person who is suffering. The third, compassion, includes the desire or motivation to do something about that person’s suffering.

Apr 1, 2021 9:08 AM CDT

Walking meditation is a step toward calm

“Having a strong mindfulness practice as a foundation has helped me get through these difficulties,” writes lawyer and author Jeena Cho. “This isn’t to suggest that mindfulness has somehow shielded me from experiencing grief or trauma. What it has allowed is a way for me to process it so that the grief isn’t the only experience my mind is paying attention to.”

Apr 1, 2021 2:30 AM CDT

Orrick hopes to battle burnout with ‘unplug time’ policy

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe wants its staff members and lawyers to take a week off work “to truly unplug.”

Mar 22, 2021 9:02 AM CDT

Most dissatisfied lawyers work longer hours and report more burnout

Burnout and long hours appear to be making life miserable for the most dissatisfied lawyers.

Mar 18, 2021 9:32 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge trims maternity claims against BigLaw firm; prison guards ordered to wear body cams

Judge trims claims by ex-Morrison & Foerster lawyers A magistrate judge is allowing two former lawyers at Morrison & Foerster to pursue punitive damages in their suit claiming that the firm discriminated against them for taking maternity leave. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the Northern District of California…

Mar 15, 2021 4:45 PM CDT

How law firms reacted to racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic

Nearly three-fourths of surveyed law firms launched new programs to address racial injustice after Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the death of George Floyd last year, according to a new study.

Mar 2, 2021 11:32 AM CST

Pandemic and financial stress could push some lawyers to act unethically, experts warn

Mental health and lawyer ethics experts are warning that financial stress and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may push lawyers to act imprudently or unethically.

Feb 26, 2021 12:01 PM CST

How lawyers can reengineer our profession from the bottom up

Sometimes you just have to tear something down and start over again—like when you were a child and built a house of blocks or constructed a bridge with your Erector set, and it came tumbling down. You discovered too late that the foundation was not strong. It needed a redo.

Feb 24, 2021 9:23 AM CST

ABA’s Practice Forward group puts focus on members’ needs, well-being

The challenges confronting the legal profession as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a prime focus of the 2021 ABA Midyear Meeting.

Feb 22, 2021 4:51 PM CST

Young lawyers bring meditation to ABA Midyear Meeting

It's important to offer people opportunities to practice meditation because once you introduce them to it, it's more likely they'll try it again on their own, says Christina Sava, a member of the Young Lawyers Division Wellness Committee.

Feb 16, 2021 9:02 AM CST

5 ways to be shameless in 2021

Negative self-judgment is a career killer. When we believe that we are fundamentally flawed, it is like swimming upstream 24 hours per day, seven days per week. We aren’t born that way, but we learn that we are unworthy from an early age. The problem for lawyers arises when our careers do not go as planned.

Feb 4, 2021 9:21 AM CST

Cole Schotz settles suit against lawyer accused of revealing confidential documents in bid to injure BigLaw

A federal judge in New Jersey has dismissed Cole Schotz’s claims against a former bankruptcy associate whom it had accused of revealing two confidential law firm documents and threatening to disclose even more.

Feb 2, 2021 3:48 PM CST

After filing election suits, pro-Trump lawyer L. Lin Wood is asked to undergo mental health evaluation

The State Bar of Georgia has asked lawyer L. Lin Wood Jr., a supporter of former President Donald Trump, to take a mental health examination after he got kicked off a defamation case for “surprising incompetence” in election litigation.

Feb 1, 2021 11:31 AM CST

Stop chasing perfection, and make it a family affair

Both partners’ support and active engagement is vital to a satisfying work-home balance. Since her passing, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been celebrated not only as a trailblazing legal giant but also as a loving wife, mother and grandmother. The Ginsburgs demonstrated that a strong partnership at home leads to success as professionals, life partners and parents.

Feb 1, 2021 2:00 AM CST

How to release self-destructive thoughts and cultivate optimism

During this period of COVID-19, when so many of our norms have been disrupted and the future is uncertain, it is an understatement to say there is a lot to feel anxious about.

Feb 1, 2021 1:50 AM CST