Lawyer Wellness

Lawyers in Love Celebrate Anniversaries at Home—and at Work

Grant and Sandy Liser are celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary this month. But the two Texas lawyers are achieving a memorable milestone as partners at the office this year, too: a decade together at the same law firm, practicing together as trial attorneys in a 21-lawyer defense firm. Although their…

Jun 23, 2008 5:52 PM CDT

Legal Beagles Join With Other Canines in Take Your Dog to Work Day

At workplaces throughout the country today, some occupants wore fur coats despite the summery weather. That’s because today was the 10th annual Take Your Dog to Work Day, prompting owners across a wide spectrum of careers to bring their pets along with their briefcases and bag lunches. For some canines,…

Jun 20, 2008 10:12 PM CDT

Lawyer Career Alternatives: Law Librarian, Accountant, Recruiter

Fed up with law practice? You may want to consider becoming a law librarian, an accountant or a law firm recruiting coordinator. The blog Above the Law is running a series of posts about career alternatives for lawyers and has featured all three careers. The latest post focuses on legal…

Jun 20, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

Job Satisfaction of UK Associates Is Increasing

Associates in the United Kingdom are feeling a little more satisfied with their jobs, according to a Legal Week survey. Only 19 percent said they planned to leave private practice eventually, compared to 31 percent in 2005 when the study was first conducted, Legal Week reports. The change was even…

Jun 20, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Life in the Law: Longtime Ga. Practitioner Tries New Challenge

Practicing law is a family affair for Franklin Horne Jr. The 63-year-old real estate attorney and developer has his own firm in Macon, Ga., where he practices with his son, Stebin Horne and daughter-in-law, Christi Horne, as his cocker spaniel, Lucy, sleeps in a bed beside his desk. A former…

Jun 16, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

‘Daddy Track’ is a Major Concern for Male Law Grads, Study Says

It isn’t just women graduating from law school and young female attorneys who worry about whether they can successfully balance the demands of the legal profession with children and a happy family life. According to a recent study of those at New York University School of Law, their male counterparts…

Jun 13, 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Want More Women Partners? Then Name Them, Blogger Tells Firms

As he listened recently to yet another panel of managing partners lament the lack of women in the pipeline to promote to partner in their law firms, a blogger had an epiphany. If they want more women partners, they should make more women partners, writes Aric Press, the editorial director…

May 27, 2008 6:33 PM CDT

‘Staycation’ Offers Respite for Frugal Lawyer

Want to save money on a vacation? Consider a “staycation”—a vacation in your own city or backyard. Manhattan media lawyer Townsend Davis took a staycation earlier this year with his wife Bridget Elias, chief financial officer of the Whitney Museum, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The couple “walked…

May 23, 2008 2:24 PM CDT

Judge Advises Colonoscopy-Averse Lawyers to ‘Get Over It’

A judge says he dreaded his first colonoscopy with the same kind of trepidation reserved for requests for a tax audit and scary parts of the movie Alien. “I’m not talking here about your basic, ordinary garden-variety bar exam dread,” writes Judge William Bedsworth of the California Court of Appeal…

May 13, 2008 1:20 PM CDT

Planned Leisure Can Be a Job-Stress Tactic, Researcher Says

A researcher who works with prison inmates has learned some things about leisure that can help professionals cope with job stress. Alison Link told the New York Times that stressed-out employees can do better work and feel more satisfied by adding “small bits of leisure” into their days. In one…

May 8, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

How Religious Attorneys Get in the Spirit of Law Practice

For religious attorneys, regardless of their particular faith, law practice has a different dimension. In addition to trying to do a good job for their clients, many say they also actively try to comply with the tenets of their belief system. And, when their clients are religious, these attorneys say…

May 7, 2008 6:48 PM CDT

‘Totally Driven’ Lawyer’s Suicide a Wake-Up Call for Others

To those who knew him, including his best friend, Hermes Villarreal was a successful trial lawyer with a happy family life. But beneath the surface, the 41-year-old South Texas plaintiffs attorney struggled with anxiety and depression. However, he didn’t know at the time that his headaches and other symptoms apparently…

May 5, 2008 8:45 PM CDT

Counsel on Call Brings More Contract Attorney Options to Boston

For a number of lawyers who want a better balance between their work lives and their personal lives or a more flexible schedule, being a contract attorney can be the answer. While the job admittedly can be a fast track to document review projects, it can also offer a chance…

May 5, 2008 3:19 PM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell Ranked Best Law Firm for Adoption Policies

Sullivan & Cromwell has taken top honors for adoption-friendly policies among law firms and other business-service firms in a ranking by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Sullivan & Cromwell offers up to 18 weeks of paid leave to adoptive parents and $7,500 to defray expenses, the AmLaw Daily reports.…

May 5, 2008 1:26 PM CDT

Best for the Business

“Top workplace” firms garner loyalty from clients and employees

May 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT