Tag: mental health

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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

A Tale of Two Law Firms

City skyline at night.
Photo by Jame Wheeler at Pexels.

Let me tell you about two different law firms.

Big Law Group One is a well-respected Canadian firm with many hundreds of lawyers, some of whom appear to be happier than others. Some of their dearly departed professionals have told me distressing stories about their lives at that firm, and the effect that the work demands had on their mental health. They also shared with me their feeling that the firm let them down when they required accommodation to recover from their mental health problems. They painted a picture of a firm which did not care much about its people, especially after those people became unable or unwilling to continue to sacrifice their health on the altar of billable hours.

read more about mental health in law firms “A Tale of Two Law Firms”
Categories
The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

To Everything There is A Season

Trees changing colour on a long country road.

I was the managing partner of a law firm for a while. At that time I saw myself as being something like Cassandra, who the Gods punished by giving her the ability to foresee the future while dooming her to never be believed. I used to try my best to convince my partners to see things my way. After all, I knew how things were going to turn out if they did not listen to me.  Not only did some of them not listen, but they actively tried to subvert the things that I was doing for their benefit. 

read more about getting over yourself “To Everything There is A Season”
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The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

Enough Already, You Greedy Billionaire Wannabe!

Woman standing in an office with her hand in the "stop" position.
Photo by Shvets at :Pexels.

“Work hard, earn a great living, get whatever you want out of life, have all the stuff you want. But there should be a ceiling on it-enough is enough!”

~ Sandy Duncan

I used to think that I was a fairly sophisticated guy. I got me an education. I was a partner in a law firm. I advised some successful clients. But since I retired, moved to the country, and bought a pick-up truck, I have been rethinking some things and I realize that perhaps I am, and have always been, more of an Okie from Muskogee, or in Canadian terms, a hick from Temiskaming. And I am happy to be one.

Continue reading “Enough Already, You Greedy Billionaire Wannabe!”
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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Soaked to the Skin

Woman sitting in the rain with a book over her head.
Photo by Min An at Pexels.

I don’t consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin.

~ Leonard Cohen

I have a friend who is a Dermatologist. I will call him Howard.  Howard knows a great deal about skin cancer, so he worries about contracting skin cancer. He wears long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a hat all summer, and covers any exposed areas with sunblock. Some say that Howard is obsessive about that.

read more about worrying in the legal profession “Soaked to the Skin”
Categories
Firm Culture

Twenty-Four Hundred Hours

A young woman lying down and propping her head up, next to a giant pink alarm clock.
Photo by Koolshooters at Pexels.

I spoke to two law firm partners this week, both of whom told me that their hourly expectation was 2,400 hours per year, consisting of 2,000 billable hours and 400 non-billable hours (administration, firm events, continuing education, business promotion, and mentoring).

I set about to do some math and determine how many hours these people have to spend on their mental and physical health and personal relationships. The law firms are all advertising their  mental health initiatives, so I knew that it would be substantial!

read more about why working 2400 hours is impossible unless you are working on weekends and holidays “Twenty-Four Hundred Hours”
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The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

Desperately Seeking More (Billable Hours) – Abridged Version

A fully clothed skeleton sitting at a desk and typing at a computer.
Photo by Oussama Bergaou at Pexels.

One of the values that drove me for a good long time was the importance of working hard and generating many billable hours.

I have concluded that there are three reasons that many lawyers work long hours. Some do it to serve their clients well.  Others do it because they are workaholics. And finally, there are those who work all of the time because they are ambitious and they want to earn a lot of money. What all of these lawyers have in common is that they all believe that working hard will make them happy. It does not seem to work for many of them.

read more about why lawyers work so hard “Desperately Seeking More (Billable Hours) – Abridged Version”
Categories
Law Firm Management

Is it the Lazy Junior Lawyer’s Fault?

The words "Self Care Isn't Selfish."
Photo by Madison Inouye at Pexels.

Tali Green recently (sarcastically)asked the following question on LinkedIn: “Are lazy and sub-par juniors contributing to the mental health crisis in the legal profession?”

read more about blaming the victims “Is it the Lazy Junior Lawyer’s Fault?”
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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

The Simple Yet Unacceptable Answer to the Mental Health Crisis in the Legal Profession

Various currency, including U.S. Dollars and Euros.

By the time that I figured out that I could no longer cope with the pressures of the legal profession and that something had to give, I had been practicing business law for thirty-three years. What can I say… I am a slow learner. It took me almost another seven years to get out. I escaped with my health intact, but just barely.

read more about the simple solution to the mental health problem in the legal profession “The Simple Yet Unacceptable Answer to the Mental Health Crisis in the Legal Profession”
Categories
The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

There Is Enough Work For Everybody

A rundown building.
Photo by Tiana at Pexels.

Someone once told me that if your family is poor when you are twelve years old, then no matter how much financial success you have, you will always be fearful that you might lose it all. On the other hand, the theory goes that if your family was rich when you were twelve years old, then no matter how badly you are doing at any moment, you will likely believe that financial success is around the corner.

read more about abundancy and scarcity “There Is Enough Work For Everybody”
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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

To All the Law Students Who I have Loved (or Just Liked a Bit)

Pregnant woman, man, and two children.
Photo by Luana Freitas at Pexels.

I write a lot about work/life balance, mental health, and the pursuit of things other than money in the legal profession.

My wife (and lawyer) Maureen McKay has laughed at me about this (among other things.) She has said, “Murray, if any of the young people who you counsel to pursue a balanced lifestyle were to have applied to your firm back when you were hiring Associates and talked about working reasonable hours and reserving evenings and weekends for their families, you would not have hired them.”

She’s right. But, in my defense, it’s complicated.

Read more about why it is complicated “To All the Law Students Who I have Loved (or Just Liked a Bit)”