Overdoing It!
Sometimes we over-function in a way that can’t be sustained. Here’s a link to my Q&A on that topic published in the September issue of Mass. Lawyers Journal. Jeff Fortgang, PhD
Tips on winning the fight against anxiety – Tip #3: Pretend you’re a surfer
One of the biggest ways to increase anxiety and stress is trying to control something that we have no control over. This is the definition of futile. Yet we do this quite often when we are anxious or worried about a potential future event. Our intentions are good (we want to prevent the bad thing from happening) but our attempts at controlling the world around us will actually increase our anxiety. The more we spend our energy on things outside of our control, the more our frustration grows, and frustration in the midst of anxiety can lead to panic. Not a good outcome generally.
Ethical Quandary: How Best to Acquire Information About the Revised Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct
You’ll have heard that the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct were substantially revised this Summer. You’ll have heard that, in part, because we told you about it. . . . which gives rise to an interesting question: How should you…
Announcing Our New Website: A Web Development Case Study for Solo and Small Firms
Web development is a much more dynamic process than it was previously. If you’re not refreshing your site every 2 to 3 years, you’ve fallen behind the times. No longer can you design a site and let it sit for…
Resilience: Internal Resources (Part 2)
In a previous post I talked about the importance of resilience in our day to day lives. One contributor to resilience is our experience of external supports (perceived and enacted). Another source of resources is within us. The more resilient we are, the more quickly we are able to rebound from challenging circumstances. This is true of major life events (adjusting to losing a job) as well as everyday sources of stress (unexpected work that gets dropped in your lap). The more resilient a person feels, the more confidence they have in their ability to withstand the turmoil that comes their way each day.
Love Languages: So many opportunities for miscommunication
It should come as no surprise to anyone that all people want to be loved. It’s one of our deepest needs. Even within our professional relationships, we want to be loved. Now most people would not identify that need as love per se when it comes to coworkers and supervisors. But the basic elements are there. We want to know that our colleagues and bosses care about us, support us, and think well of us. So call it what you will, the same need exists within our professional relationships the same way it does in our personal ones.
LCL ANNUAL MEETING
ANNUAL MEETING NOTICE The Annual Meeting of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Inc. will take place on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 3:30pm at LCL’s offices at 31 Milk Street, Suite 810. The meeting will be an open meeting of the…
A Story of Hope and Redemption
Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers means many things to many people. Ideally those that seek its services do so before their personal challenges result in professional problems.
I’m a regular member of LCL’s Professional Conduct Group, a group made up of attorneys who have been subject to some form of Board of Bar Overseers discipline. Members represent every stage of the disciplinary process: Most have already been subject to a sanction, be it suspension, or disbarment. Some are in the very earliest stages of the disciplinary process and may even still be practicing pending a temporary suspension or some other, lesser disposition of their matter. Others have already done their time as it were and have already been successfully reinstated to the practice of law. It’s a testament to the importance and power of this group that those lawyers, the reinstated ones, who are under no obligation or mandate to come to this group, continue to do so, in many cases years after they’ve returned to the practice of law.
Shedding Some Light on Blackouts
In her new book, Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, Sarah Hepola looks back on and illuminates her drinking life, a time when she recurrently found herself awakening in the bed of a stranger and told herself that it meant that she was free and empowered rather than imprisoned in a horror show. Sarah experienced drinking as a doorway to feeling better about herself – her intellect, her body – and, as it is for many alcoholics, sexual behavior and alcohol consumption became intertwined. To hear Terry Gross’ interview with this author, who is very open about her story, click here.
Re-entering the job market through the OnRamp Fellowship
Today’s legal job market is competitive. With the number of law school graduates exceeding the number of law firm job openings, many struggle to find a way into a job working in a law firm. On top of this, many experience law firms as looking for a very specific resume and feeling as though they need to fit into a cookie cutter mold and surrender over their lives in order to get hired. Historically, there have been significant gender differences in the practice of law which can be grossly summarized as large firm culture has favored men. Women lawyers often report that their experience as associates in large firms is significantly less satisfying (as in their compensation) than their male counterparts (you can read more here and here).