Lawyer Wellness

‘Get a Life’ Attendees Focus on Efficiency—and Smelling the Roses

Mary Schmitt Smith stopped to smell a rose at a lawyer conference in Chicago on Wednesday—and that was part of the point. “It’s a serious attempt at having fun,” the suburban Detroit attorney said of the Get a Life conference, aimed at offering attorneys tools for better work-life balance. “There’s…

May 28, 2009 2:38 AM CDT

Sleep Docs Offer Tips for Legal Workers and Others Stressed Out by Economy

Sleep isn’t as restful as it used to be for 49-year-old “Frances,” a law firm employee who worries that she and her boyfriend could lose their jobs due to the dismal economy. ‘I’ll have dreams about what can happen, of actual conversations of talking to my boyfriend and saying, `Oh,…

May 26, 2009 5:41 PM CDT

PD’s Book About Her Cases & Her Kids Shows Why She Went to Work

When Claudia Trupp had a cancer scare, the New York appellate public defender decided to author a book. Written between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.. for six months, as her husband, who is also an attorney, kept the coffee coming, it was initially intended for her children. “I wrote it…

May 22, 2009 5:24 PM CDT

Panelists Trade Barbs at Debate on Work Ethic of Millennial Generation

Are members of the Millennial generation self-entitled and lazy? Or are they energetic, aware and forging a new path so they won’t have to sacrifice their families for a career? The Wall Street Journal Law Blog highlights the debate—and the conflicts—that emerged at a panel discussion last month at InsideCounsel…

May 22, 2009 1:35 PM CDT

Hipster Cities Like Portland Attract Lawyers Willing to Work as Paralegals

Portland, Ore., is among the cities attracting young well-educated “hipsters” willing to overlook a tough job market to live in a popular place. And some of the new arrivals are lawyers. Portland, Seattle and Austin, Texas, don’t have enough jobs for all their young and educated migrants, but the places…

May 18, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Why Women Lawyers Leave: A Quest for Flexible Work and Supportive Environments

Dissatisfaction with work-life balance is pushing women lawyers in New Jersey out the door and into new jobs, a survey has found. Most of the respondents—almost two-thirds—said they were satisfied with their ability to integrate their work and personal lives and the predictability of their hours, according to a press…

May 14, 2009 3:58 PM CDT

What Gender Gap? Many Women Lawyers w/ Kids Do as Well as Men, Researcher Says

It may not be whether women lawyers have children but how much they focus on their families that accounts for a widely reported gender gap between the salaries and partnership prospects of male and female attorneys at many law firms. A study of data concerning graduates of the University of…

May 13, 2009 12:14 AM CDT

BigLaw Brother-Sister Team Wins CBS’s ‘Amazing Race’

A Harvard-educated brother-sister team won the $1 million grand prize in the 14th edition of the globe trotting game show the “Amazing Race.” The winners, Victor Jih, 35, and his sister Tammy, 26, are both practicing lawyers in California, the Associated Press reports. To wrap up this season’s race, three…

May 11, 2009 2:26 PM CDT

Disappointments Preceded Suicides by Lawyers at Three Major Law Firms

Job stress and career disappointments are apparently taking a toll on lawyers working in the high-pressure world of large law firms. In the past six months, lawyers working for three major firms have reportedly committed suicide after job or trial losses, the National Law Journal reports. Experts told the publication…

May 11, 2009 12:27 PM CDT

Odd Details of Souter’s Life Chronicled, Including Apple Appetite

Unusual details of Justice David H. Souter’s personal life are beginning to emerge, from the way he eats an apple, core and all, to the way he met New Hampshire’s governor—at his hometown’s town dump, something of a place for socializing. The Washington Post and the New York Times both…

May 4, 2009 1:55 PM CDT

Indelicate Balance

Before lawyers feared they’d be laid off, they worried about the time demands of law practice.

May 2, 2009 3:00 AM CDT

Mom & Dad, Esquire

More households managing dual law careers

May 2, 2009 1:20 AM CDT

Lawyer Personalities May Contribute to Increased Suicide Risk

Personality characteristics often associated with lawyers, such as perfectionism and competitiveness, when combined with depression may be contributing to a higher suicide rate in the legal profession, an expert says. Lanny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology, a group devoted to suicide prevention, says risk factors for…

Apr 30, 2009 6:43 PM CDT

Women Lawyers Feel Betrayed When Female Bosses Aren’t Nurturing

Experts who study women in the legal profession are noting that the idea of a sisterhood of female lawyers isn’t always the reality in the workplace. Women expect female bosses to be nurturing, and the result can be feelings of betrayal when the reality is different, the Am Law Daily…

Apr 30, 2009 2:16 PM CDT

Downturn Will Make Firms More Hospitable for Women, Partner Argues

A lawyer who spearheaded a project to retain female lawyers sees the economic downturn as an opportunity for law firms to change their business methods and become more hospitable for women. Right now, law students are in a weaker bargaining position and partners are less likely to leave. And those…

Apr 28, 2009 1:03 PM CDT