Feel Good Law

Many attorneys went to law school because they "love" the law or they wanted to "help" people. Let's face it... that love and desire to help others doesn't pay the bills. After graduation many new lawyers are facing student loan payments that handcuff them to private practice and strip away all the feel good qualities that many of us were seeking and dreaming of when we left law school.

The down and dirty is that we all need to generate revenue and it seems the more revenue that we generate, the more hands that are in the pot! There is no time to feel good about helping people and the obligatory pro bono work gets boiled down to a few hours from the most junior associate - and likely least experienced and perhaps least competent... c'mon we have all looked back at the first few assignments and wondered why we weren't fired on the spot.

Getting to the point, we trudge in to the grind everyday and have forgotten the shining spark of why we are there. I don't know about your world, but mine has been really altered by this energy BS of 2012... I can best characterize it as turbulent. I cannot waste another second on things that don't matter. Every commitment and obligation I have has been reviewed by me this year. A bit of insight into my perspective shift, my father died and then my husband's best friend dropped dead at work (with my husband) and a college teammate died from cancer at the age of 38 with 2 little boys under the age of 3.... so who really gives a BLEEP how many billable hours I had! This run of funerals was one of many this year. Each time reaffirmed my new position that every move matters! Don't waste time on stupid shit.

While I would not wish this strife on anyone, it has been a rebirth in some respect. I have found my purpose and I am living it. Every morning I get out of bed and thank the angels who line my path.

Consider this:
1. Are you doing what is meaningful to you?
2. At the end of the day can you separate what you are doing from the BS you are bogged down with?
3. What are you waiting for?

I want others to feel as fulfilled as I do and know what it means to live your purpose.

Alana

alana@jalanacoaching.com

I didn't go to law school for THIS!

I am a half-practicing attorney and am grappling with the issues that plague most of the attorneys I know. Are any of us well? I mean truly... Chronic diseases, depression, addition, obesity, total lack of fitness... of course this isn't every attorney, but this profession lends itself to being chained to a desk for hours on end - with one objective in sight... billable hours and work product.

Right out of law school I worked for a firm that paid a portion of your gym membership, which was conveniently located right next door, but they encouraged you to use your lunch hour to visit the gym... so I should give up eating lunch in order to get to the gym? That didn't work for me but neither did many things that I encountered in the practice of law.

I ultimately found that balance and wellness were far more important to me than the prestige of big firm practice. I happily settled into my small town solo practice and I take the time to do the things I want to do!

One of those is to help other attorneys find their balance, pursue wellness and reignite their bliss!

I regularly will update this blog with current articles and insights, however, if you are interested in taking a look at where you are comparing that to where you would like to be and discussing whether I can help you get there with as little discomfort as possible, drop me a note!

I also work with law firms that desire to assist their attorneys with the pursuit of wellness... It's an awesome employee benefit that sets your firm apart from the others.

May your days be filled with enough billable hours to make your play fun, but not so many that you never make it to the field to play!

-Alana

alana@jalanacoaching.com
www.jalanacoaching.com