Ever "Googled" someone? Sure, we all have. These days, the Internet is the first place we go to find and gather information about someone. Whether you ask Siri or type in a search string, our introduction to a new contact…
The chief difficulty in having so many programs and applications that we use in our work and personal lives is that we wish to secure much of data we put online -- or, if not the data, certainly the accounts…
Thanks to mobile devices, attorneys can remain connected to their offices while on the go. While this can be hugely advantageous to practitioners, having access to confidential client data can also pose major security concerns. Small handheld smartphones, in particular,…
You’ll have read some variation of the Myth of Sisyphus elsewhere, no doubt; and, mostly, the story gets you weepy over ol’ Sisyphus because, each time he seems to have completed his task . . . well, the boulder rolls…
Last week, we heard from family law attorney Alison Silber about her experience with maternity leave as a solo practitioner. This week, Alexis B. Kaplan of the Law Offices of Alexis B. Kaplan, LLC writes about how she prepared and…
Are you ready to start preparing for maternity leave as a solo attorney? As a solo practitioner, the buck stops with you. You cannot pick up and take a hot air balloon ride around the globe anytime you well please,…
Last year at the Massachusetts Bar Association's Sole Practitioner & Small Firm Section Symposium, in the midst of a presentation about goal setting, I gave my audience a task: to write down three goals for the next week. The purpose of…
With large numbers of unemployed attorneys in Massachusetts, as well as those working below their income capacity, it’s clear that a significant percentage of lawyers in the Commonwealth are dealing with constricted personal budgets. Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, LOMAP’s parent…
Did you just pass the bar exam? Congratulations! Now, then: I have some good news, and I have some bad news. Want the good news first? Okay. You’re a lawyer. Nice job, all the hard work has paid off. The…
If the main rules of real estate are “location, location, location,” then the main rules of thriving emotionally in the field of law are “boundaries, boundaries, boundaries.” You can preserve your emotional and mental health by establishing firm boundaries early in the legal career. These boundaries will help you successfully navigate all of the ego-damaging obstacles along the way.
Some boundaries, like drawing the line about how late you are going to check that flashing BlackBerry on a Friday night, are obvious. Other boundaries are equally as crucial, but it’s slightly more difficult to recognize their importance when you are just starting out your legal career and are eager to advance. The determination to excel and the mental stamina required to climb the metaphorical legal ladder are very admirable. It takes a special kind of personality and strength of character to be willing to compete in the field replete with aggressiveness and power games. The legal discipline embodies survival of the fittest at its best.
To survive, developing the instinct of self-preservation is a must. In this case, we are talking about the preservation of a stable self-image, which leads to the preservation of the emotional and mental well-being.
The self-image of a young lawyer can get attacked from a myriad of directions: