The Whole Lawyer™Advocating for Whole Lawyer in The Courtroom, Practice and LifeAdvocating for Whole Lawyer Success in The Courtroom, Practice and Life

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About The Whole Lawyer

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Lawyers are uniquely positioned to have problems.

Ours is the only profession where in every matter we face a smart, aggressive, well paid and highly motivated opponent whose sole purpose is to beat us. The constant conflict this brings us both with them, and within us, is unusual and unhealthy.

Studies have shown that lawyers have two characteristics which lead to success. The first is a trait we share with many professionals, perfectionism, when even our best is not good enough. If 99% of what we do is perfect we just zero in on the 1% of a question or a witness or a juror that “just wasn’t done right.”

The second trait is even more dangerous. Studies have shown that lawyers have the only post-graduate training which rewards pessimism. We are trained to look at the dark side, to think of all the things that can go wrong.

While these traits may help us achieve success they eventually wear on our lives and lead to extremely high rates of dissatisfaction, divorce, depression and substance abuse.

No one in law school or practice teaches us how to deal with these traits and the conflict, stress and long hours our work brings us. The world is also getting faster and the demands for our time and attention are increasing as quickly as chip speed. As a result increasing numbers of American lawyers find themselves out of balance, lost, and longing for change in their lives. We lawyers not only suffer but, more importantly, our families, clients and the very system of justice we serve also suffer.

How we help.

For those lawyers who want to help improve their lives and practices this site will help you in a shared quest to find happiness and fulfillment.

For those lawyers who want to move to flex time (e.g. to raise a family), or otherwise shift away from the the practice, this site will also help you in that transition.

We provide assistance to lawyers through education, resources, speaking, consulting and coaching. If you are interested in learning more please sign up in the email box to the right. If you would like updates on articles and posts written to improve your lawyer happiness please sign up in the email newsletter box to the right.