This story is continued from the last edition of the State Bar Journal. Finally, the time came for Brian to leave the treatment center. The day we picked him up,…
My son is an addict. His addiction has had a profound impact on my life. Addiction—which includes alcoholism—is a disease, and it wreaks havoc on family members as well as…
“Life is short. Have an affair.” You might also want to have a good lawyer. And if you are a lawyer, you might want to “drop, cover, and hold on.”…
Lawyers are especially adept at maintaining a façade. “Never let ‘em see ya sweat” is wonderful advice for entering into a tough mediation, negotiation, or lengthy trial. The problem arises…
You’ve already been at the office for nine hours. The senior partner is on your case about a research memo you haven’t had a chance to begin. That difficult client…
Practicing law is stressful. Practicing medicine is stressful, too, but there is a difference, as illustrated in this example we often use in our CLE presentations: As a lawyer, you…
The emerging scientific field known as positive psychology helps us understand how the brain can change, and that we can purposefully change it to create more positive emotions. Positive emotions,…
Most of us decided to go to law school because we had a passion for justice and helping people. While we may not think of the legal profession as a…
The legal profession has a problem. Lawyers are suffering and, far too often, they are taking their own lives. Lawyers, as a group, are 3.6 times more likely to suffer…
The Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) has been receiving an increasing number of calls from lawyers who are struggling with their tween, teen, or young adult children’s substance abuse problems. The…
Social scientists have researched and examined the relationship between material well-being and emotional well-being or happiness. For most of the world, greater levels of material wealth have led to greater…
Personal stories can be either the easiest to tell, or the hardest. Easiest, because we know our own stories so well; hardest, because they often reveal things about ourselves or…
