It's not the billable hours that cause lawyers stress. Not technically.
Yes, billable requirements are absolutely insane. Yes, they are a primary source of stress in a lawyer's life.
The real issue, however, is underneath the number. It's not the number that's required. It's what that number means to you.
Billables and the associated stress means something different to each person. For one person, billables mean that they've lost control of their lives. For another, billables represent loss of family time. For the next, the problem is that billables represent an overwhelmingly negative view of the future.
To get control of your life, you have to understand the underlying issue. And that underlying issue is individual to each person.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
"Burnout plagues immigration judges"
Pamela Starr (www.starrparalegals.com) sent me a link to an article in www.dailyreportonline.com The article addressed the job burnout and secondary traumatic stress affecting immigration judges.
This is the kind of thing that I pay attention to - the traumatic effects of professional life. On a large and small scale this happens to folks all the time. Lawyers, physicians, etc. The public thinks that you have it made. But there are these internal traumas and stressors that make life very difficult. So that hard as*ed lawyers tell me the stories about how they shut the door and cry after listening to painful stories. That's not the image that the public has of the law. Maybe that doesn't need to be the reality that the public knows. But it has to be one that lawyers can talk about somewhere, with someone.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Burnout plagues immigration judges
New study says difficulty of handling asylum cases pushes judges to the edge and may affect their rulings
Immigration judges, who day in and day out listen to horrific personal stories of asylum seekers, suffer from significant job burnout and secondary traumatic stress, which may affect their rulings, according to a recent study.
After analyzing data from 96 immigration judges who participated in the study, researchers from the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at th....
To read the entire article click here. Please note: This link will remain active for seven days from today's date.
This is the kind of thing that I pay attention to - the traumatic effects of professional life. On a large and small scale this happens to folks all the time. Lawyers, physicians, etc. The public thinks that you have it made. But there are these internal traumas and stressors that make life very difficult. So that hard as*ed lawyers tell me the stories about how they shut the door and cry after listening to painful stories. That's not the image that the public has of the law. Maybe that doesn't need to be the reality that the public knows. But it has to be one that lawyers can talk about somewhere, with someone.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Burnout plagues immigration judges
New study says difficulty of handling asylum cases pushes judges to the edge and may affect their rulings
Immigration judges, who day in and day out listen to horrific personal stories of asylum seekers, suffer from significant job burnout and secondary traumatic stress, which may affect their rulings, according to a recent study.
After analyzing data from 96 immigration judges who participated in the study, researchers from the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at th....
To read the entire article click here. Please note: This link will remain active for seven days from today's date.
Lawyers: Have a Soul vs. Soulless - vote below
Lawyers – Have a Soul vs. Soulless – vote below. I just posted this poll on my facebook page. I'll be curious if it sparks discussion.
My contention is that lawyers are fundamentally good people.
When I got my first root canal, the dentist said that 94% of root canals go just fine, but the 6% of people who have difficulty are so vocal about it that the public thinks that root canals are horrific.
I wonder if it’s the same with lawyers. Perhaps the percentages need adjusted some.
What if that’s true? What if some small percentage of lawyers were the ones giving the whole profession a bad name?
Would it change the way you go through life? Would it change the way you look at each other to realize that the person at the other table has the same crap to deal with on a daily basis as you do? Maybe their life is just as challenging and they’re fundamentally a nice person who got stuck in the middle of a bad case…
Just musing…
My contention is that lawyers are fundamentally good people.
When I got my first root canal, the dentist said that 94% of root canals go just fine, but the 6% of people who have difficulty are so vocal about it that the public thinks that root canals are horrific.
I wonder if it’s the same with lawyers. Perhaps the percentages need adjusted some.
What if that’s true? What if some small percentage of lawyers were the ones giving the whole profession a bad name?
Would it change the way you go through life? Would it change the way you look at each other to realize that the person at the other table has the same crap to deal with on a daily basis as you do? Maybe their life is just as challenging and they’re fundamentally a nice person who got stuck in the middle of a bad case…
Just musing…
"If only"
If we only wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, and that is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are. ~ Charles de Montesquieu
People aren’t as happy as you think they are. We presume that life will be better “if only.” “If only” never arrives. Happiness is not created when some magical thing happens. Happiness is created in this moment.
There are certainly times when happiness eludes, when the stresses of the day supersede the little joys. Those are the times when you have to be more diligent about looking for what’s right. The times when most of your life and work is a stress are the times you must take extra care to enjoy the small things.
Finding a split second of peace and happiness in the small things – the birds singing when you wake up, the sunset, the rain gently falling, the smile from a stranger, the fact that you finished this piece of paperwork 6 minutes earlier than you anticipated – is critical. Sometimes the split second of joy is all you get.
People aren’t as happy as you think they are. We presume that life will be better “if only.” “If only” never arrives. Happiness is not created when some magical thing happens. Happiness is created in this moment.
There are certainly times when happiness eludes, when the stresses of the day supersede the little joys. Those are the times when you have to be more diligent about looking for what’s right. The times when most of your life and work is a stress are the times you must take extra care to enjoy the small things.
Finding a split second of peace and happiness in the small things – the birds singing when you wake up, the sunset, the rain gently falling, the smile from a stranger, the fact that you finished this piece of paperwork 6 minutes earlier than you anticipated – is critical. Sometimes the split second of joy is all you get.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
You're Not Always Right
You weren’t born a lawyer. Your parents may say you were born argumentative, but you weren’t born a lawyer. At some point in childhood, you knew that you weren’t always right.
Then you grew up. Somewhere along the way you decided you were always right. Perhaps before law school. Perhaps during. Now you probably think you’re always right.
How many times has someone told you in an argument that you’re not always right? Spouses, partners, significant others. Do they get irritated and say You think you’re always right?
The very things that help you succeed so well at your job - your drive to succeed, your drive to be correct, and your certainty in your arguments - create major issues in relationships.
If you’re successful at your job, you may be alienating the people around you.
Lawyers have to learn to turn off their drive at home and with friends. It really is ok if you give your loved ones space to think their own thoughts. You don’t have to convince them of the Truth.
Remember that you will unconsciously drive to convince and persuade. Trust your loved ones when they say you’re being too intense with your opinions. You may think you’ve left that approach at the office, but you haven’t. You can’t.
Life will be a continual process of letting go and relaxing.
Then you grew up. Somewhere along the way you decided you were always right. Perhaps before law school. Perhaps during. Now you probably think you’re always right.
How many times has someone told you in an argument that you’re not always right? Spouses, partners, significant others. Do they get irritated and say You think you’re always right?
The very things that help you succeed so well at your job - your drive to succeed, your drive to be correct, and your certainty in your arguments - create major issues in relationships.
If you’re successful at your job, you may be alienating the people around you.
Lawyers have to learn to turn off their drive at home and with friends. It really is ok if you give your loved ones space to think their own thoughts. You don’t have to convince them of the Truth.
Remember that you will unconsciously drive to convince and persuade. Trust your loved ones when they say you’re being too intense with your opinions. You may think you’ve left that approach at the office, but you haven’t. You can’t.
Life will be a continual process of letting go and relaxing.
People Don't Understand You
People don’t understand you. The process of looking for what’s missing and the training that went into getting you that skill makes you different from most people. The non-law people you hang out with won’t really understand that.
When you get weird looks from people and they seem not to follow you, realize it’s because they were trained in an entirely different discipline.
Your discipline is vastly different from the rest of the world. The content is obviously very specific, but the process of thought differentiates you and changes your approach to life.
Cut the people around you some slack. Be patient. There’s nothing wrong with the way they think. They were just trained differently than you.
When you get weird looks from people and they seem not to follow you, realize it’s because they were trained in an entirely different discipline.
Your discipline is vastly different from the rest of the world. The content is obviously very specific, but the process of thought differentiates you and changes your approach to life.
Cut the people around you some slack. Be patient. There’s nothing wrong with the way they think. They were just trained differently than you.
Seeing What Doesn't Exist
Our brains are oriented to see what exists, not to look for what isn’t there.It's easy to look at the argument that has been presented. The process of looking for what isn't being seen is inherently stressful. It's harder to look for the path or the angle that doesn't yet exist. It tires out your brain, even if the excitement of the challenge drives you.
Big Picture or Detail Oriented
People either think in big picture or details. Not both simultaneously.
Part of the stress is the pressure to simultaneously see the big picture and details. We know that people tend to be detail oriented or big picture oriented. It’s impossible to do both simultaneously. Realize that you have to flip mental roles back and forth through the day. No one else does those two processes equally well either. You have one you do primarily. The other is a secondary back up. Do your preferred process; then flip to the other.
Part of the stress is the pressure to simultaneously see the big picture and details. We know that people tend to be detail oriented or big picture oriented. It’s impossible to do both simultaneously. Realize that you have to flip mental roles back and forth through the day. No one else does those two processes equally well either. You have one you do primarily. The other is a secondary back up. Do your preferred process; then flip to the other.
You may feel alone, but you aren't
Lawyers have a tendency to feel isolated. The nature of the work is isolating itself. Moreover, the need to look like you have it all together creates a sense of being alienated. No one’s life is perfect. When you spend your days trying to appear as if you have it all together when you don’t, you end up alienated from yourself and the people around you.
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