Studies show that lawyers in their first ten-years of practice are the most likely group of attorneys to qualify as problem drinkers, deal with depression, and struggle with anxiety issues.  “Remarkably, nearly 1 in 3 younger lawyers are ‘problem drinkers.’”  The American Bar Association recently addressed these problems for the profession as a whole in a recent resolution encouraging law schools, law firms, and bar associations to be more proactive in addressing these issues.
 
With respect to younger lawyers, a recent article recommends several steps law firms can take address these problems:
 

• Mentoring Programs: Law firms should promote official and unofficial mentoring programs.  These can serve two purposes: (1) matching struggling lawyers with someone with whom they can privately discuss their concerns, and (2) allowing senior attorneys to identify individuals that need assistance.
• Encourage Attorneys to Seek Help: There are a number of avenues for young lawyers to seek help for substance abuse or mental health disorders.   In Utah, the Lawyers Helping Lawyers program provides confidential assistance to members of the Utah State Bar dealing with mental illness, emotional distress, substance abuse, or other disabling conditions.
• Positive Firm Culture: Many dealing with substance abuse or mental health issues worry about the stigma associated with these problems.  A culture that provides support and encourages lawyers to seek help will be invaluable for ensuring attorney well-being and long-term firm stability.

​Robert T. Denny
Fit2Practice Committee Chair

What do you need?

Take honest stock of your needs professional. What is most important to you? Status, autonomy, structure and direction, mentorship, flexible hours? As you think about this list of job criteria (and others), is there something you want, but you feel guilty about it? For example, is status important, but you feel you shouldn’t value this criterion? Ask yourself why. If it is a need, why do you feel you should repress this need?

What can you learn from the people in your office?

If you have decided this is where you want to be, and there is not much you can change at present to make it a better fit, then think about what you can learn from the people around you.

Exercise and therapy:

​I am a supporter of exercise in any form (running, walking, swimming, yoga, the list goes on!) Let’s think about when exercise not be enough. If you find relief from the stress, pressure, or emotional load you are carrying during the period of exercise, but then moments later it comes back, psychotherapy may be a good choice. In addition to exercise and psychotherapy, you may want to consider meditation.

Response: One attorney stated they wanted to know more about “New/better/different methods of dealing with growing caseloads and difficult client/opposing counsel.” Doesn’t this just say so much!

So again, I’m going to break my response down to three points.

The first: Logistics. Is your job a good fit for who you are?

There are many ways to be a lawyer. We can conceptualize two distinct parts: content/substance and structure/ process. The content/substance of the job is what you think about, the intellectual material of the job; the structure/process is the location or type of organization (firm, in-house, federal or state, private, etc.). I think it is important to ask yourself, “Is this job a good fit for me?” The content/substance may be something you are passionate about, but does the structure work? For example, if you find yourself in public defense with a very limited amount of time for each case, but you naturally are a person who prefers to ponder or reflect on ideas, the mounting caseloads will continually push against your intrinsic way of operating.  You, of course, are welcome to work with this internal conflict, but know this is your choice. Being aware of this logistic piece and knowing yourself will allow you to make more conscious decisions about how you want to move forward. Other factors to consider within this structure/process piece are physical office space, interpersonal office dynamics, time/deadlines, autonomy and control, and status.

Additionally, research does show increasing job satisfaction is correlated with autonomy. New lawyers don’t usually have a lot, if any, autonomy in many of these job structures. So ask yourself, “Logistically, where do I stand with my job and how does that fit (or not) with my intrinsic way of being? Will these situational conflicts improve over time or am I asking myself to work in a way that will continue to be a difficult fit?” The answer may illuminate whether endurance and self-care will get you to the desired place or whether you are Sisyphus rolling the rock uphill; this situation will never become a good fit!

Second piece: Emotional regulation: I have included here an example of what not to do. One of my favorite characters, Unikitty, demonstrates what not to do when it comes to emotional regulation, click at second 26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNnRovCQj9k

Emotional regulation is the ability to express or suppress emotional reactions. We still experience the emotion. Therefore, emotional regulation is about the ability to choose your expression (or not) of that emotion. Likely, you are all good at this process or you wouldn’t have made it this far in your careers. However, being successful in a highly competitive field means you are likely very good specifically at emotional suppression. For example, it is important not to “blow up” at a client or boss. But emotional suppression takes a toll. We see decreases in cognitive ability overtime and increases in emotionality outside of the work environment. This may leave you feeling confused about your emotional reactions outside of work.

What does this information about emotional regulation mean for you? I suggest looking for a balance. Your job requires that you suppress your emotions on a regular basis. Can you find a place (support group, therapist, partner/spouse) where you can talk freely about and experience your emotional load? To be able to talk about these emotional experiences, even after the fact, is very helpful from a cognitive perspective and an experiential process.

The third point: Personal Dynamics

Plato’s famous phrase “Know thyself” is key here. Our prefrontal cortex (PFC) in our brain is forming until we are about 25 years old (possibly older). The PFC is largely involved with our personality, as well. So, we can conclude, it takes a while for us to create a foundation for a more stable personality. It will change over time, of course, but from 30ish-50ish we usually find the most stability in our sense of self. Why should you care about this?

It is important to understand that jobs are a part of your identity, and how much depends on your relationship with your career. It is important to understand what this job means to you on a very personal level. What can you learn from it, and what can you bring to it? How do you want to think about being a lawyer?

Our experiences and relationships shape our thinking, behaviors, and emotional responses. The better we can understand ourselves, the better we are able to move forward in a way that will meet our needs- intellectually, emotionally, financially, and so on.

Response: I’m going to address this question at large and speak to negative talk as a particularly important situation that undermines confidence, a specific point of interest identified by respondents in the participant survey. Please do ask questions if what I am saying does not make sense and we can make this blog post interactive. (Feel free to email me at kwdennett@hotmail.com or call (802) 363-4131 if you have questions or comments).

Coming back to the question at hand. The way I would think about or approach this question, from my clinical background of depth psychology or psychodynamic orientation, is three-fold. (I was told to say there are always three reasons… a moot court joke I believe.)

The first point to consideration: Identifying patterns or themes internally.

When you think about the situations that are particularly difficult for you, is there a theme or several themes? Is there a certain type of scenario that you individually find particularly difficult? If you can identify this, then start to explore this idea. Has this type of situation always been difficult? Does it remind you of anything, perhaps another time in your life?

Also identify or think about the negative talk. Does this voice or voices remind you of anyone in your life—an ex, sibling, caregiver or parent for example? If yes, you now have a relationship that you can explore in your mind that you are carrying around with you and may be repeating in new situations.

Identifying your specific, unique, and idiosyncratic ways of interacting with these situations and your internal experiences that come up during these situations is the first step. This will allow you to start bringing into your awareness the elements you are carrying every day. These elements are internal and we often don’t notice them because they have been a part of our internal structure our entire lives. Our experiences and relationships shape who we are—thoughts, behaviors, emotions.

The second way to think about this question/issue: Behaviors and ways of being.

As you explore the way you approach things (think about behaviors or ways of being such as having anxiety or negative self-talk) think about how these behavior(s) may have been beneficial or adaptive at one point in your life. I believe that all our behaviors were at one time beneficial in one way or another. And these behaviors, while now not helpful or maladaptive, may still provide some benefits that we are holding on to... Anxiety is stressful and keeps you working too hard, but give it up and now there is the stress and anxiety associated with new worries that you might not be prepared to deal with. Sometimes we stick with the familiar (even if it’s not really working) because the new is unknown (and this is inherently anxiety provoking or overwhelming).

So, the first two points are about understanding yourself—behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. This is a very brief rundown but a way to start thinking about these complex ideas and how they tie into your unique sense of self. 

The third point: What can you do in addition to understanding yourself in more depth?
​
Most of you have heard about affirmations, so let’s explore this in a bit more depth. There are two sides to this concept and skill. Some researchers from Carnegie Mellon (Creswell, Dutcher, Klein, Harris & Levine, 2013) have found affirmations will mitigate the effects of stress on problem solving. Interestingly, these affirmations were not self-affirmations. Instead participants wrote about why they valued some aspect or interest in their lives. Researchers found participants’ problem-solving skills increased compared to a control group.  Why does this work? Possibly these individuals are reconnecting with their intrinsic interests and sense of self, which allows them to feel more confident and clear minded moving forward.

But we need to take affirmations, especially self-affirmations with a grain of salt. Researchers in Canada (Wood, Perunovic & Lee, 2009) found self-affirmations were somewhat helpful in increasing self-esteem in people who already had good self-esteem. So, what about those with low self-esteem? They, in fact, suffered from the self-affirmation technique. What’s the thought here? Perhaps the distance between the affirmation and self-perception was too big and the pervious self-perception was instead reinforced. Paradoxically, it can be very helpful to have your negative thoughts validated.

Many solo and small firm practitioners encounter the same problem: how to generate sufficient revenue to pay the bills. If initial capital is unlimited, this can be easily done through hired services. However, not everyone has that luxury when starting a practice. This article does not provide a quick fix by any means, but it provides a basic framework that, when followed, should help attorneys develop a steady word-of-mouth referral stream within 6 months or less.

Principle 1: Master Your Niche

Too many young attorneys make the mistake of opening a practice and taking any work that comes their way. While this may seem appealing at first, it can quickly dilute your practice area and your skills to a point where you are unable to differentiate yourself from other legal professionals in your area. Developing a niche practice is a much more sustainable business model, especially for new attorneys.

Identify Your Niche: Why are you practicing law? What interests you? What cause can you identify with? While your practice may have one or two general practice areas, choose a niche that you can promote. This niche needs to be something that you can master and in which you can become an authority within 6 months. For example, while it’s doubtful you will become the preeminent personal injury attorney in your area within that timeframe, maybe you can become the local dog bite expert in that period. For intellectual property practices, develop a niche in expedited service mark filings. For criminal law, become the local authority on THC-positive impaired-driving charges. Whatever your practice area, identify a niche that you care about, that is needed, and that you can master in a short period.

Develop Your Niche: Know your niche inside and out. For every common issue you encounter in your niche, you should know exactly where you stand with the code and case law. Get to a point where you know exactly what needs to be done without needing to do research on each element. Instead, you should only need to research when you need to: 1) check your gut; or 2) look into a rare and unique aspect of that type of case. If you haven’t reached that point, dig deeper. This will help you serve your clients and to boost your confidence in your ability to represent them.

Maintain Your Mastery: Keep apprised of updates in the law. Be humble enough to accept advice, correction, and input from other professionals. Expand your mastery into other niches within that practice area. Read and write about your niche on a weekly basis. Always question your methods and practices in light of every client’s fact pattern, and be willing to adjust.

Principle 2: Broadcast Your Niche

Once you have developed a skill through which you are uniquely equipped to help clients, you need to let them know about it through any and all appropriate channels.

Avoid a “Gimme” Attitude: Too often, new business owners in any industry will open a business, panic when clients don’t come knocking right away, and respond by asking everyone they meet for referrals. Not only is this bad taste, but it often backfires as a turn-off to those who could be great referral sources. There is nothing wrong with self-promotion, but only ask for referrals from close friends and family, or in the context of a networking group or community where asking for referrals is encouraged.

Meet with Your Referral Sources: Instead of asking for referrals, a more effective method of finding new referral sources is to: 1) identify professionals in complementary industries, including other attorneys occupying a different niche; 2) ask them about themselves and about their services; 3) ask them about their niche or something that sets them apart, specifically how they are equipped to service your clients; and 4) add value to them in some way. I have found that educational materials about your niche can be particularly effective in adding value to other professionals and in promoting your expertise. In this approach, you can build a relationship with other professionals without even asking for referrals. Through this relationship, referrals flow naturally as needs arise.

Beware of Exclusive Alliances: While there is nothing wrong with referral relationships, it’s a good idea to be wary of other professionals seeking exclusive referral arrangements. For example, estate planning attorneys are constantly approached by investment and insurance salespeople promising a steady stream of clients referred in exchange for an exclusive referral arrangement. Ethics concerns aside, aligning exclusively with someone in a field whose representatives outnumber you 30-to-1 is rarely a sound business model, even if aligning with a top producer. Instead, find ways to identify unique strengths of different providers to be able to refer your clients to the best service provider for their need.

Get Out of the Office: You need to constantly make new relationships outside of the office or your day-to-day routine. You can do this on your own or through community and networking organizations. Some effective facilitators include music and arts organizations, chambers of commerce, BNI, Toastmasters, Rotary Club, Lions Club, and Corporate Alliance. It is critical that you be involved with these organizations because you want to, and not because you must. Know the culture of each organization and adopt it through your involvement. Do not actively promote your services during community involvement. Instead, participate and make a point of learning as much as you can about others. In doing so, you will naturally have others want to learn about you. You will find that, without treating each person as someone at which you can throw a sales pitch, referrals will start to come in because people like you and trust you.

Publish Content: Whether through print media, radio waves, handouts, lectures, or the Internet, develop a library of content through which prospective clients can find out more about your niche before committing to a meeting. However and wherever you publish content, its creation costs nothing more than your time. You can pay for others to adapt, optimize, or advertise the content if you want, but as a minimum, create it and publish it in some way. As you do so, your writing skills will improve and you will be forced to think about your niche in ever-increasing contexts.

Summary

While not a guaranteed way to generate revenue within a week or two, this method will help solo and small firm attorneys cultivate meaningful relationships leading to a steady word-of-mouth referral stream within 6 months or less. The trick is to identify, develop, and master a niche that you care about, is needed, and that is narrow enough to master within 6 months. Then, get the word out through meaningful contacts with other professionals and members of the community.

by Bebe Vanek

We say it countless times per day. We were taught by our parents and kindergarten teachers that we must say thank you when we receive something, or when someone is kind, or as acknowledgment of a good deed.

The importance of “thank you” in the vocabulary of a young lawyer is tantamount to res ipsa loquitur, inter alia. Okay, so we are not supposed to use legalese, but you get the point.  Saying or writing “thank you” is very important, and in a few instances, forgetting to say it can be an irrevocable mistake.

After a Job Interview:

Picture this: You just interviewed for your dream job; and it went really well.  A panel of five partners interviewed you, and you did your research – knew their names and practice areas and catered your answers to be relevant to each partner. 

You made eye contact.  You’re floating on cloud nine, feeling like you’ve got the gig in the bag.

Days, then weeks, go by, and you haven’t heard a word.  What went wrong?!  You realize that you forgot to send “thank you” notes….

Although this is a bit dramatic, a “thank you” note after an interview is one of the most important ways to show respect, follow-through, that you’re interested in the position, and cement the interview in the minds of the interviewer. 

I recommend adding personal information in each note that relates back to a specific question or topic covered in the interview.  I recommend sending handwritten notes, on nice stationary (Emily Post says, “handwritten notes are warmer and more personal than a phone call or email, and only second best to thanking someone in person”), but many people send emails immediately after a phone interview, and follow up with a “thank you” note after a call-back or panel interview.   

Why take the time? I was told by an employer in law school, that what put me ahead of the other applications in the hiring decision: my “thank you” note.  It may not be much, but it can have a big impact on your career and reputation.

After a Mentor Meeting:

We’ve all heard about the importance of mentors in the professional lives of young lawyers.  Every judge I have spoken about their career before the Bench, refers back to his or her mentors as an integral part of their professional development.  

As young lawyers, we are required to participate in the NLTP and meet monthly with a mentor to discuss the practice of law.  The NLTP is a large time commitment for our mentors, and a “thank you” goes a long way.  Our mentors are not obligated to meet with us, i.e. they are taking time out of their day to provide advice and share personal experiences, and sometimes, take us to lunch!  It is also a great way to build your professional network and be the name your mentor thinks of when a position is open at their firm. 

Why take the time? I was told by a professional friend and mentor that he really enjoys being a mentor, and would be happy to help more young lawyers, but values, above all else, the courtesy of a “thank you” note.

Final “Thank You” Tips:

Check, and recheck, spelling and address.  I once misspelled the address of a potential employer and my “Thank you” note was returned, undelivered.  Sadly, someone else got that job (and I like to think it was only because of the case of the MIA Thank You). 

Mr., Mrs., John, or Jane?  Address the envelope to match the name as listed on the firm or company website.  Inside the note, you can be less formal.  If the interviewer provided you with his/her first name during or after the interview, use it to personalize the note.  However, you can always use the interviewer’s formal name to show continuity inside the note if you aren’t sure.
​
Be polite and be yourself.  If you valued something from your interaction with the future-recipient of your “thank you” note – say so!  You really cannot go wrong by being personable and saying thank you. 

​Bebe Vanek is the Sponsored Projects Officer at University of Utah Office of Sponsored Projects.

by Laura Summers

So, you finished law school at the top of your class (or wherever).  You passed the Bar exam (sweet!).  You bought a nice suit and landed an associate position in a reputable law firm (drop the mic). 
 
Congratulations, Young Lawyer! One day, you’ll rule the world. 
 
Let’s chat. 
 
I am your Paralegal (or maybe Legal Assistant) – either way, it is my job to make you look good.  It’s important you understand that we are a team.  I didn’t graduate from law school, but I’ve done this job since before you were born, and I can offer you some valuable assistance if you let me.  Who knows? You might even learn something from me. 
 
Let Me Help You.

I know you can type, and are probably used to doing all of your own drafting and editing.  I too, have quality writing skills and I understand the type of law we practice here.  I can proofread like the dickens and will probably save you more than a few embarrassing moments.  I am quick to recognize grammatical errors, and can know in an instant if that Judge you listed on the pleading is no longer on the bench.  I can spot a case number that’s missing a digit from a mile away, and I can do it all with uncanny accuracy.
 
If I can’t understand your logic, then neither will the Judge.  It’s not ever my intention to undermine your work.  It is my desire to work as an extension of you.  If you can learn to rely on me, it will always be to your benefit.
 
Trust Me.
 
I know everyone.  The clients, the clerks, the assistants and paralegals in other offices.  I am your best resource to tap into the goodwill of all of these folks.  You need an extra day to finish that brief?  I got you. 
 
Use Me Appropriately.
 
I don’t take shorthand (well, I did – back in the day) and I won’t appreciate being sent out for your coffee or dry cleaning.  I have left well-paying jobs for less.  However, I will be your best ally when it comes to making a deadline or organizing your trial materials.  I will work hard for you (even come in early/stay late) if it means collaborating with you on a quality product.  I don’t like feeling expected to bail you out, and I appreciate kindness and gratitude for my contributions.
 
Gain from My Experience.
 
I know the Rules.  I know the rules.  I know who’s who and who’s … not.  I know the Court system.  I know who to call for what, and how to get it fast, and relatively painlessly. Sure, I can tell you some stories, like how we used to have to run pleadings to court and get them time-stamped by hand before midnight – because it was me who had to do it.  I’ve seen some sh**.  Use my experience to your advantage.
 
You and I are going to be friends.  I’ll keep your calendar like a hawk.  You’ll never miss a single deadline (or your spouse’s birthday).  I am dedicated to your success as well as my own.   Please respect me as your colleague and I’ll go to the ends of the earth - to timestamp your pleading before midnight. 

​Laura Summers is a paralegal at Dolowitz Hunnicutt, PLLC.

by Kate Conyers

​​I like to think of myself as a decent networker. I know there are lots of suggestions out there on the best ways to network, and I’m sure a lot of them work great! Until I get around to reading up on those suggestions, however, I have been doing something quite simple. It’s my RULE OF THREE. Whenever I go to any professional (or even social) event, I live by my rule that I will meet three new people. Not to just introduce myself to those people, but to actually meet them – learn their names, where they work, and something interesting about them. Before I leave the conversation, I’ll make sure I’ve used their names a few times with the hope that I will remember their names the next time I see them. Occasionally, I’ll be at an event or gathering where I already know most everyone. During those events, I’ll try to solidify my relationship with three people, usually starting with the people who are the most influential to my career or position. Sometimes, I’ll actually make a list of those three people and a plan of attack so that I can make sure to speak with all of them before they leave or when they become free. I can sometimes be quite the introvert, so this RULE OF THREE helps me to feel like I accomplished something at the event and made it worthwhile. After several events, you’ll know a great group of people.
 
One other quick networking tip: Always start the conversation with someone influential or who you are still getting to know by providing your name. I tend to meet a lot of people and I’m not so great at remembering names. Even if we’ve met several times, it’s possible I don’t remember your name (although I likely will know several awesome things about you and where we last saw each other!!). I recommend something like, “Hi Judge So-and-so! Kate Conyers (indicate to yourself). It’s great to see you again. How did you enjoy the Spring Bar Convention?” This type of introduction lets that person know that you remember who they are, it will remind them who you are (and maybe where they last saw you), and it’ll tell them that you remember something about them. Bonus points if you remember something inconsequential about their kids/grandkids, one of their hobbies, or a vacation they just took or are planning. I use this approach as often as I can (unless I really know the other person). I appreciate when others use a similar approach with me at professional settings when I don’t know them really well. The “Don’t you remember me? Really? Then what’s my name?” quiz is really annoying, and although you will make an impression on me and I will remember your name, it’s probably not the impression you meant to leave. 

​Kate Conyers is an attorney with the Salt Lake Legal Defenders.