Joining a firm as a new lawyer or a junior lawyer can be incredibly intimidating. There is the legal aspect, where you may be inexperienced in the tasks the firm needs you to do. Then there is the aspect of working in a professional environment which you may never have experienced before. Developing your skills is a must, but how can you do that when you’re brand new to the field or firm?

 

To answer this question and many others with me this week, I invited lawyer, coach, and author Adriana Paris onto the podcast. As the Director of Attorney Development and Recruiting at Rissman Law, Adriana oversees the hiring, training, and retention of lawyers at the firm. She is also the author of Rising Lawyer, a practical guide for law students and junior associates who want to succeed in the legal profession. In her work as a productivity coach for lawyers, she helps her clients navigate the challenges and opportunities of their careers while getting the most important things done more efficiently.

 

Over the last six years of my coaching practice, I’ve witnessed many lawyers just like you who are experiencing a feeling of stagnation or plateau in their careers. They question why they’re stuck when it seems like everyone else around them is happy in their practice. If you’re experiencing an internal nudge that something needs to change, you’re most definitely not alone.

 

My clients are invariably brilliant, smart, ambitious lawyers who want to create an impact that is often beyond what they’re currently achieving. They strive to foster professional excellence while cultivating a supporting environment in their personal lives, but face a bottleneck and can’t see a path forward. To make progress, we must first uncover why you’re feeling stuck, and I’m sharing my observations with you this week.

 

How do you currently record your billable hours, and how does your process make you feel?

 

The lawyers I work with often commit to a solid docketing practice at the beginning of the year, only to find themselves slipping and playing catch-up by this point in January. They tell me that recording their timesheets feels more challenging than it needs to be, and they find it a painful process that stirs up feelings of dread, resistance, and resentment, leading them to drag their feet.

 

Boundaries tend to be a novel issue for many lawyers practicing in today’s world. In a profession mired in a culture of achievement and excellence, you’re not alone if the notion of setting and upholding boundaries feels scary, but the truth is it’s more important than you might think.

 

Bena Stock is a litigator-turned-counselor for lawyers and the founder of The Lawyer Mindset. Among the many issues she helps lawyers overcome, she’s also been teaching lawyers how to set boundaries for over six years. She’s here today to walk us through how to set boundaries in environments where it’s particularly challenging, and why reinforcing your boundaries matters.

 

One of my favorite New Year’s traditions is to set a word of the year, a practice I’ve maintained every year since becoming a coach. This process revolves around casting a vision for the energy, decisions, and goals you’ll pursue throughout the year, serving as an incredibly helpful guide and anchor.

 

The word-of-the-year process typically involves choosing an aspirational word. However, there will inevitably be some days when we can’t fully embody the word we’ve chosen. This can lead us to feel a lack of connection to the word and, eventually, give up on it completely.

 

The promise of a New Year is an exciting time, and it’s the perfect opportunity to begin mapping out your future. It’s one of the most satisfying ways to use your time and there’s nothing I love more than writing out a plan, so to get you started, I’m helping you craft a business plan for your practice on this episode.

 

This episode will help you tweak your plan for 2024 if you already have one, or will provide lots of great suggestions if you haven’t already created one. If you want to make it to the end of 2024 with the results you’re envisioning right now, clarity and focus are essential, and a business plan is your path there.

 

Now that we’re in the thick of the Holidays, you’re probably starting to turn your mind to next year. What would you most like to create in 2024? How do you go about achieving your goals? And do you want to be challenged, but want someone else to lead you through the process? 

 

This week, I’m sharing a webinar that I delivered earlier this month on how to create sustainable success in 2024. You are in the perfect position to participate now that the new year is just around the corner, and if you’re ready for 2024 to be your milestone year, listen closely and answer the prompts I’m offering you today.

 

All of us have real lives and real problems that exist in and out of our careers. Mix that in with the particularly challenging time the world is going through right now, and you might be feeling extremely overwhelmed, isolated, or heartbroken. But the unfortunate reality is that the world doesn’t stop for us when we’re dealing with challenging circumstances.

 

That’s why this week, I’m making a case for extending compassion to you and those around you. The Holidays can be a particularly rough time for many of us for several reasons. If you’re struggling in your personal or professional life and you’re trying to keep up appearances, but feel like your best isn’t good enough, embracing compassion is a choice you get to make, and I’m inviting you to try it this Holiday season.

 

2024 is right around the corner, which means a promise of a fresh start and a clean slate. The closing of any chapter, whether it’s a year, project, or phase of life, is the perfect time to perform a reflection practice, and I’m sharing mine with you this week.

 

Approaching the end of one year often means we’re beginning to think ahead to the next. If you, like me, have been in action mode throughout 2023, pausing to step back and reflect is vital so you can plan in a smarter way for what’s to come. 

 

You may feel like you have worked hard to create a life that looks great on paper, but it feels like something is missing.

 

You may be in a position where you have the career, title, material comforts, partner, and children—or any number of things you always dreamed of having. However, instead of feeling like you’ve arrived, you find it’s not actually what you want. In fact, you might even feel trapped by the life you’ve created.