The pressures of lawyering are known to attorneys who live them every day, and a panel at the NJSBA Annual Meeting talked about those issues and the latest efforts to help and focus on the well-being of lawyers.
“Until a few years ago, there were not any major studies on lawyer well-being,” said Heidi Alexander, the Director of Lawyer Well-Being for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
In 2016, spurred on by the national awareness that Lawyers Assistance Programs had been seeing for decades, the American Bar Association with other entities, initiated a study on lawyer well-being. The ABA’s Report from the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being found that between 21% and 36% of attorneys nationwide qualified as problem drinkers, and more were struggling with depression and stress. The report found that lawyers in their first ten years of practice indicated low levels of career satisfaction.
“The perceived stigma of needing help is viewed as a weakness, and one of the most significant roadblocks,” said Alexander.
Alexander added, “The practice of law historically has not welcomed attorneys who do not fit the mold.”
The task force made recommendations, including that states create well-being task forces.
“The work we need to do,” said Alexander, “on the individual side, involves self-care, taking breaks, learning how to better manage a practice, practicing mindfulness, and seeking help when you need it.”
Organizations need policy changes to make real progress, and everyone should be involved – state task forces, lawyers’ assistance programs, bar associations, and other stakeholders.
Attorney Lori Ann Buza, who is also a mindfulness and yoga instructor, described symptoms of burnout and too much stress.
“Back pain, headaches, high blood pressure – these are physical manifestations of stress that sometimes we cannot see and other times can be pretty obvious,” she said.
Some of the benefits to mindfulness practice Buza described were how it affects your brain, that it reduces cell aging and dying, and can also reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
“Mindfullness is really about being present, enjoy that present moment without worrying about the future,” said Buza.
“Meditate, focus on the here and now, take a moment to feel gratitude, and feel love for yourself or you can’t take care of other people. As lawyers we counsel others, and we can’t do that if we don’t take care of ourselves.”
NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta talked about transforming the Association’s Drug and Alcohol Committee into the Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, a group devoted to a more proactive approach in dealing with unhealthy habits.
Yonta brought up her own pressures being a criminal law practitioner.
“We are always meeting people sometimes at the worst times in their lives. That can affect us personally as well. I meet people at the bottom most point in their lives. How can I not take that stress on as a lawyer? And the question is, how do I manage it?”
Attorney Beth Manes offered suggestions that she uses herself to “switch-off” from lawyering.
“How do you know if you need a vacation? If you’re a lawyer and have clients, you need a vacation.” She said.
“I like to plan something every six to eight weeks on the calendar, at least I’m looking forward to something, and I am detaching myself from clients and adversaries,” Manes explained. “So put it on the calendar, block out a date, and put it in. Block out one weekend a month.”
She continued, “Go off the grid and shut off the phone. If you go on a cruise, don’t take the wifi package. If there is an emergency, staff will reach out to you.”
An important tip Manes offered is to let your clients and adversaries know ahead of time that you are going to be unreachable for a few days or weeks, and give them a contact at your firm.
“If you are a solo, try to have someone else on a file, a paralegal, secretary, someone they can contact,” she said.
Solo practitioner Kiomeiry Csepes uses batchworking to focus on tasks.
“I block out time, say from 10 to 1, to work on declarations, motion writing, and when the time blocker rings, I take a short break then reset the timer for the next task to accomplish.” said Csepes.
Beth Manes shared a tip from outgoing Solo and Small-Firm Section Chair Bill Denver.
“He told me that every Sunday evening, he reviews the week ahead to go over what’s coming up and what to do to prepare,” Manes said that you’re already planning the week ahead before you turn in.
Program moderator Maritza Rodriguez chimed in, “On New Year’s Eve, instead of going out, I sit down with my favorite meal and my calendar and block out my favorite dates. Use your calendar, because before you know it, it’s June.
Closing advice from Lori Buza, “Your health is your most important thing. You can’t do anything without your health.”
How Hitting the “Off” Switch Can Help You Thrive was cosponsored by the NJSBA Solo and Small-Firm Section and the presenters were Maritza Rodriguez, Esq., Rodriguez Law Firm, LLC, Newark; Heidi Alexander, Esq., Director of Lawyer Well-Being Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; Lori Ann Buza, Esq., KSBranigan Law, P.C., Montclair; Kiomeiry Csépes, Esq., Kiomeiry Csépes Law Offices, Trenton; Beth C. Manes, Esq., Manes & Weinberg, LLC, Westfield and NJSBA Kimberly A. Yonta, Esq., Yonta Law, LLC, New Brunswick.