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“I don’t hear from happy people,” says Hindi Greenberg, founder of Lawyers in Transition, a California-based counseling service exclusively for attorneys. 

Greenberg was a trial lawyer for ten years prior to establishing her company nearly 29 years ago. She stopped counting the cadres of lawyers, who, for various reasons, arrived at a crossroads in their careers when the number reached 15,000. They seek her advice about what to do in response to a job loss, work stress or other concerns that cause them to question what to do next professionally.

“Law is a stressful profession because it’s adversarial,” she says. People maintain opposing stances so, even when merely negotiating a lease, everyone has different interests to protect, Greenberg says.

Richard Carlton, acting director of the State Bar of California’s Legal Assistance Program (LAP) agrees. In the nearly three decades Carlton has been counseling attorneys, he has witnessed the stressors that derailed some otherwise promising legal careers. “My personal experience... is that lawyers have an inordinately high level of stress,” he says. Those stressors run the gamut, but are primarily linked to “unreasonable clients and opposing counsel” whose demands are incredibly unrealistic, Carlton says.

So, in the legal profession, where adversity is the norm, is it truly possible to escape or at least manage the inherent stress?

Look For Help

Organizations such as Carlton’s are one place to look for help. At California’s LAP, career counseling is among the most-sought after services for the 400 to 500 lawyers the organization serves annually, says its acting director.

In addition to juggling deadlines, ever-changing statutes, employee needs and demands, and, of course, clients and opposing counsel, running a law practice also means paying taxes and bills such as rent or the mortgage. “None of that is taught in law school,” Carlton says.

Attorneys call on the California LAP for career counseling services for a myriad of reasons, such as a new job search, a transition from one area of law to another or even just to discuss what they don’t enjoy about their particular experience.

“We offer one-on-one consultations with career counselors with a specialty in the legal arena throughout the state,” Carlton says. In fact, he suggests “it is imperative” for lawyers questioning their career choice to work with a career counselor with knowledge about the particular stresses of practicing law.

‘Desserts’ is the Opposite of ‘Stressed’

“When I lecture attorneys about the stress of practicing law, I point out that stress is not inherent in the practice, but is actually a reaction,” to certain triggers, Carlton says. “The more we allow our minds to go there, the more stressed we are."

Because of that recognition, the study of mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular for attorneys. What that means, explains Carlton, is demystifying meditation and incorporating mental training exercises into one’s everyday schedule. Such activities help calm the mind and body, outcomes that are beneficial to reducing stress.

“It’s important to develop some measure of mental discipline and the ability to focus on the task at hand versus those scary thoughts in the backs of our minds,” Carlton says. 

It’s those scary thoughts, such as worrying about one’s competency to handle a legal matter, that hamper a lawyer’s ability to perform. Those fears often lead to stress, so the ugly cycle repeats itself.

Is All Stress Bad?

Some people, like Greenberg, produce under pressure. “I work best under an absolute deadline,” she admits. 

The key is knowing yourself and your work style. For Greenberg, who realized early in her professional career that deadline pressure propels rather than inhibits her success, deadlines are what she calls “positive stress. It makes you move forward and produce.”

The opposite, which she labels “negative stress,” brings about many physical or psychological bodily responses. For example, attorneys who are worried about appearing in court get sick to their stomachs or develop headaches. Those physical reactions lead to increased stress and can seriously hamper one’s ability to accomplish the goal at hand.

Concrete Steps Toward De-stressing

Sure, enjoying a massage is a great way to de-stress. However, the calming effects are temporary, and if the stress of your professional life is overtaking your entire being, it won’t solve your problems.

The American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, such as Carlton’s, maintains a National Helpline for Lawyers at 1-866-LAW-LAPS. It also offers a directory of Lawyer Assistance Programs, by state, available here. 

Other suggestions include:

• Improve time management techniques
• Become self-aware of negative triggers and develop positive responses to them
• Practice relaxation techniques, including controlled breathing exercises and getting up from your chair and simply stretching your muscles
• Delegating some of your duties, even if that means hiring an assistant
• Develop interests outside the field of law to inject happiness or fulfillment to your life

While attorneys don’t usually have happy people seeking their services, it’s imperative to remember the issues you tackle on behalf of your clients are theirs. Do your best not to make their problems yours, too.

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.