Attorney Work/Life Balance Archives | Page 2 of 3

15 12, 2010

Before You Make New Year’s Resolutions…

2010-12-15T18:11:03+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

There’s an old story about a guy who walked down the street and fell into a giant hole. He yelled for help for a long time, but no one came. Finally he managed to scratch out some notches in the wall, and with some difficulty, he clambered out.

The next day he walked down the same street and fell into the same hole. He didn’t yell very long before he remembered the notches he had scratched before. He dug them out a little more, and then climbed out much more quickly.

When he walked down that street the third day, he caught himself as he teetered on the brink of falling into the hole again. He walked gingerly around the hole and went on his way.

On the fourth day… […]

30 08, 2010

Sleepless in Seattle: A Lawyer’s Occupational Hazard?

2019-02-10T23:15:58+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

“If a man had as many ideas during the day as he does when he has insomnia, he’d make a fortune.” ~Griff Niblack

In my law practice I often began morning instructions to my staff with “In the middle of the night, I remembered that we need to . . . .” One day, my paralegal responded, “Don’t you ever sleep through the night?”

Taken aback, I stammered, “Uh…no. Do you?” I was surprised to learn that she usually did. Perhaps I thought waking in the middle of the night was an occupational hazard of working in a law firm. I had awakened for so many years that I forgot that some people don’t.

Waking is not really a problem, unless I can’t get back to sleep for hours. I appreciate my faithful spirit guide — or whatever it is — for the midnight alert that something is about to fall through the cracks or for gifting me with brilliant solutions to thorny problems. John Steinbeck said “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” I just wish The Committee would wait until morning to give me the good news. Who knows? Maybe the dark of night is the only time I am quiet enough to hear whispered answers or warnings. In any event, if I don’t get back to sleep until an hour before the alarm rings, I start the day in a fog and I’ll probably react irritably to someone by 3:00 p.m.

If this sounds too familiar, here are a few tips from an experienced wee-hour-waker that may help you get back to Snoozeville more quickly.

[…]

21 06, 2010

Handy Additions to Your Conflict Resolution Toolbox

2010-06-21T13:04:13+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Handy Additions to Your Conflict Resolution Toolbox

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail,” observed the famous psychologist , Abraham Maslow. When it comes to conflict resolution, the only tool that most lawyers get from law school is a hammer.

Hammering your opponent might work in a trial, but it doesn’t create optimal outcomes in a casual disagreement. It doesn’t work very well when your “opponent” is your boss or someone you care about. It doesn’t foster healthy and productive on-going relationships at the office. Hammering the other side and trying to “win” tends to spawn resistance, rigidity, passive-aggressive behavior, escalation or chronic difficulties. Defeating your opponent rarely results in genuine resolution of the issue.

Lacking other tools, ironically, some lawyers avoid confrontation on their own behalf. I know a very effective trial attorney who wouldn’t return a shirt that was the wrong size. Conflict avoiders allow the biggest rainmaker or the loudest bully in the office to control decision-making, without benefit of their valuable input. Meanwhile the law firm experiences low morale, costly turnover, missed opportunities and wasteful mistakes.

To help you become more effective at resolving your own conflicts, as well as at helping clients resolve theirs, here’s a brief primer on a few techniques to add to your tool box. […]

10 02, 2010

ABA Journal quotes Debra

2010-02-10T14:43:36+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on ABA Journal quotes Debra

Debra Bruce, President of Lawyer-Coach, was quoted in the February 2010 issue of the ABA Journal. The article is titled “Virtual Escape: Lawyers Wrestle with 24/7 Technology.” Authors Becky Beaupre Gillespie and Hollee Schwartz Temple explore the impact on attorney productivity and stress levels resulting from being constantly tethered to smart phones.

The last time Debra was quoted in the ABA Journal, the article was “Midcareer Malaise:
How to find a new path for your 40s.”

11 12, 2009

Tips for Relieving Holiday Stress

2009-12-11T19:33:24+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Tips for Relieving Holiday Stress

December often brings added stress to many lawyers. Some associates worry whether they have billed enough hours, and whether they can possibly make up the shortfall in the remaining weeks in the year. Other attorneys work long hours, struggling to meet hard and fast deadlines, as multiple clients try to close transactions or settle cases before year end.

Holiday shopping, traffic jams, and commitments to friends and family create additional demands on our time, and fray our nerves in a season that should be filled with laughter and good will. This year’s financial woes in the legal industry just seem like piling on.

If you feel stress during the holidays or any other time, here are some reminders about how to keep it down to manageable levels.

1. Engage in self-care.

We all know that we get cranky when we are hungry or tired, and that exercise helps relieve stress. Nevertheless, self-care is often the first thing we sacrifice when time is in short supply. Shorting self-care may actually cost us more time, however. We need fuel and rest to think clearly and process efficiently, so without them, our work takes longer to complete, or we make mistakes that cost time to correct.

[…]

1 09, 2009

Is “Good Enough” Becoming the Enemy of the Perfect?

2009-09-01T21:41:43+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Is “Good Enough” Becoming the Enemy of the Perfect?

About a year ago Jordan Furlong warned in his excellent article, The Rise of Good Enough, that “clients are coming to see the costs of exactitude in the law as simply too high.” He described how some general counsel look for outside lawyers who weigh the expected risks and benefits of a legal course, rather than always pursuing the exact right answer.

Recently Robert Capps pointed out in Wired magazine that inexpensive but “good enough” technology is revolutionizing industries ranging from the military to legal services. Technology now permits lawyers to provide online “customized mass production” of common documents at rock bottom prices.

[…]

16 03, 2009

How to Say “No” to a Partner

2009-03-16T18:45:09+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on How to Say “No” to a Partner

Author Anne Lamott says, “‘No’ is a complete sentence.” When you’re a junior associate facing a demanding partner in a law firm, however, it seems more like the path to a death sentence. How can you “be a team player,” yet protect your vital interests in your own health and well-being? Do you dare say “no” during an economic recession, when you see other lawyers getting laid off? Here are five strategies for taking care of your needs while still taking care of business.

1. Be proactive.

Minimize the number of occasions when you need to be reactive or negative. Do you work with a partner who has a pattern of dumping a new project on your desk on Friday at 3:00 p.m. with a Monday morning deadline? Try dropping by his office earlier in the week to discuss what may be coming up.

You might say, “I have an important commitment this weekend, so I want to make sure I cover all the bases for you by Friday. (Note: It’s important to insert that “for you.” It reassures him that you have his interests in mind.”) Are there any projects that you could find the need to hand off to me later? If so, I would like to know about them now, so that I don’t have to leave you in the lurch.” That last part forewarns him that you intend to stand firm, yet you care about what he cares about…him. […]

14 11, 2008

Successful Lawyer Time Management

2008-11-14T16:16:34+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Successful Lawyer Time Management

A lot of lawyers struggle with time management. Many lament the unpredictability of their schedules and the volume of last minute client “emergencies.” Some get so many interruptions during the day that they don’t actually get a good start on their most important projects until after 5:00 pm. They work long hours just to make a little progress.

Some attorneys want to please their clients, so they promise to deliver the client’s work at the earliest date they can get it out. Unfortunately, they usually make the assessment in a vacuum, without first assessing the other commitments they have already made, and without allowing space for unexpected contingencies.

There are many such issues that affect an attorney’s productivity. Here is my top ten list of time management behaviors of productive lawyers.

[…]

14 05, 2008

Achieving Balance from the Inside Out

2008-05-14T09:45:33+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

Lately I have received a rash of requests for coaching and speaking on the topic of attorney work/life balance. You can find some specific suggestions on that topic in my article titled Work/Life Balance: Are You Tottering on the Brink? first published on December 11, 2006 in The Practice Manager.

Clients as Mirrors
Coaches remark that their clients often bring to them the very challenges that the coaches themselves need to address. What a blessing! It is so much easier to see the options available to someone else. Then we can just listen to the ideas and observations we offer our clients, and apply them to our own lives.

I have been struggling to keep my own workload in balance. In my practice I see attorneys reluctant to ask for help. I see them postpone the investment in hiring the additional quality assistance they need. I see lawyers hold themselves to an impossible standard. I see lawyers say “yes” to too many commitments. I see them promise a document delivery at the earliest date possible, without finding out when the client really needs it, or without assessing how much time they need to meet their existing commitments. I see attorneys spend time on low priority squeaky wheels and distractions, instead of protecting their time for more important projects. I warn them to “put your own oxygen mask on first” as I watch them put the needs of family and clients ahead of their own, once again. At one time or another I do all the same things.

[…]

14 03, 2008

Learning from Our Mistakes

2008-03-14T11:16:53+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Learning from Our Mistakes

A wise person said, “A mistake is not a mistake unless you fail to learn from it.” I made my share of mistakes in my legal career, and here are a few I learned from. I thought I would offer you the chance to learn from some of mine, instead of making them all yourself.

1. Viewing speaking and writing as non-billable time. It is true that we usually can’t bill anyone for those activities or the preparation time required. When I looked at it that way, however, I tended to de-value the activity, and put it behind everything else. Of course, that means I didn’t get around to developing talks or writing articles that would showcase my expertise and expose me to new contacts. The wiser course would have been to view those efforts as important business development activities, so that I would give them the appropriate emphasis.

2. Focusing on prospective clients and not on prospective referral sources. As a corollary to the first law practice management mistake described above, I didn’t take advantage of opportunities to speak to audiences full of referral sources. At a time when I represented small businesses, the managing partner of the regional office of a large national insurance company asked me to give a talk to their sales stars about shareholder agreements in closely held organizations. I never got around to it. I saw it as a favor to them and I didn’t recognize that they would be highly motivated to act like my free sales force convincing business owners that they needed shareholder agreements backed by key-leader life insurance. I didn’t recognize the opportunity, even though I had seen how an initial small project could develop into a significant long-term client. When those life insurance clients didn’t like their existing counsel, or needed a referral for other reasons, I would have […]

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