how to have work life balance as an attorney

How to achieve better work-life balance as a lawyer

• Think about your personal and professional goals. The individualistic nature of lawyer work-life balance makes your...
• Be true to your personal and professional needs. Perhaps you’ve identified that you work better at home. Or maybe the...
• Build a work schedule that works for you. Many of our days are beholden to...

Full Answer

Can lawyers have work-life balance?

Start making more time for yourself and your family by building balance into your home with these tips: Turn off. At the end of your workday, mute your notifications and disconnect. Use this time to be present with your... Take care of yourself. Health and happiness are the foundation for lawyer ...

What happens when you don’t have a balance of work-life balance?

Feb 28, 2022 · How to achieve better work-life balance as a lawyer Think about your personal and professional goals. The individualistic nature of lawyer work-life balance makes your... Be true to your personal and professional needs. Perhaps you’ve identified that you work better at home. Or maybe the... Build a ...

What happens when you don’t have enough balance as an attorney?

Mar 19, 2019 · Paths to Better Work-Life Balance Telecommuting, flextime, part-time, and job sharing are four different alternative work arrangement options that have been implemented in firms across the nation. Telecommuting involves allowing attorneys to choose a couple of days out of the week to work from home.

What goals should I set for work-life balance?

Feb 28, 2018 · Six Steps Toward a Successful Law Firm and Successful Life. Acquire better management skills. Implement better technology. Create and install better systems and procedures. Develop better teams — lawyers, paraprofessionals, support, contract staff — and delegate more work. Build a better market ...

Make space for personal time

It’s no secret that lawyers work hard, but if you’re going to better maintain your work-life balance, it is essential that you make time for yourself. Consider joining a weekly yoga class, or if you don’t have time to physically go, download the Yoga Studio app, to give yourself a short at-home practice.

Enjoy digital-free moments during every day

For me, the key to maintaining a work-life balance is to take moments to simply turn off my phone. When you get home, I advise that you switch your mobile to silent, to enjoy dinner in peace, or spend some quality time with your family without distraction.

Turn your commute into a no-work zone

A daily commute can seem like the perfect opportunity to check emails. We’ve all sat next to someone who’s frantically typing on their laptop on a busy train! Yet one of my best tips is to use this small window of time to relax.

Learn to delegate effectively

It’s all very well taking moments out of the working day, but if your diary is bursting at the seams, doing so will be impossible. Juggling a heavy workload is one of a lawyer’s greatest skills, but working at reducing that workload is just as important.

Set yourself limits for working hours

One of my greatest tips for a better work-life balance is to keep track of the number of hours you spend working. You could consider how many hours you’re willing to work in a single day or week, and stick to it.

Opt for legal project management

To further reduce the pressure coming from your work, try adopting the Legal Project Management principles. This will allow you to minimize the amount of time you spend on each scheme and to increase the overall efficiency of your team.

Utilize technology

We live in a digital age, so why not make the most of apps and tools that are there to ease our burdens?

What is attorney work life balance?

Attorney work-life balance is also something that can’t be defined just once. Rather, it will evolve and grow as your life changes. The important thing is that you’re intentional in documenting what this looks like for you. Then, use that self-discovery to chart a course of action that’s flexible, yet committed to your overall well-being and long-term mental health. Consistency is important here since the accumulation of small efforts on a daily basis can lead to big results.

What is work life balance for lawyers?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines work-life balance as “the amount of time you spend doing your job compared with the amount of time you spend with your family and doing things you enjoy. ”.

How many hours do lawyers bill a day?

Our 2016 Legal Trends Report revealed that lawyers only bill 2.4 hours per day. When we explored this further in our 2018 report, we found that lawyers were spending 31% of those missing hours on office administration and billing.

Why is it different for lawyers than other professions?

This is because the demands of your day as a lawyer will vary based on practice area, law firm culture, the structure of your family, and the kind of support you have both personally and professionally.

Why is it important to have more flexibility in your work hours?

Whether you work the traditional 9-5 or have more flexible hours, building in time for movement, nutrition, rest, and connection is also important for a more balanced lifestyle.

Why is my law firm untidy?

If your law firm is set up to handle client files using paper and premise-based servers, you’re likely spending too much time searching for information and getting organized. Try digitizing your files using a scanner like Fujitsu ScanSnap, which integrates with Clio’s unlimited cloud-based document storage. You’ll be able to search for documents by navigating to the matter they belong to in a few clicks, instead of rifling through a pile of papers or disorganized filing cabinets to get what you need.

How to recharge your body at the end of the week?

At the end of each week, try looking at the week ahead and insert some time blocks for meals, a walk, yoga, or whatever else recharges you during a workday.

Why do lawyers choose alternative work arrangements?

The first and most common explanation is fear. Many times, young lawyers who are told by their firms that these options are available without penalty still feel afraid to take advantage of them. Even though they are unhappy with their workloads, they don't want to choose alternative work arrangements until they have proven themselves in their firms.

Why do lawyers work flex time?

Flextime is an option that works well for families where both parents work because it allows lawyers to negotiate their schedules with their superiors. With this option, the beginning and ending hours are modified depending on the lawyer's needs, but the full-time workload stays intact. For example, it may be best for some to begin work at 7 a.m. and get off at 5 p.m., while others may prefer working from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.

What is telecommuting for attorneys?

Telecommuting involves allowing attorneys to choose a couple of days out of the week to work from home. Cutting down on both commute times and workplace distractions, this option is thought to be conducive to higher productivity.

What is alternative work arrangement?

For that reason, firms have begun implementing options designed to help achieve the perfect balance of work and life. These are often called "alternative work arrangements.".

Why do firms offer extra incentives?

Firms have also begun to offer employees extra incentives such as on-site fitness clubs and child care. Because so many professionals share child care responsibilities with their spouses, options such as these make balancing work and life a lot more convenient.

Why do lawyers learn new ways to operate their firms?

Successful lawyers learn new ways to operate their firms so they can keep building their practices while having (or recovering) a life.

Why are attorneys successful?

Successful attorneys never hesitate to make a “capital investment” in people or technology because the goal is a long-term payoff of happier clients and better, more expedited work. And they never stop the quest for a better market focus and a better client base.

What is the problem with law school?

The problem is that law school embeds a “no boundaries” mindset about the practice of law. Big exam tomorrow? Big load of assignments? Work until the wee hours, pull all-nighters and take amphetamines to keep going. Then go out for some celebratory, stress-relieving drinks afterward. Associates in large firms know that mentality continues into practice. Thrown an overwhelming load of work on a short deadline? Work until the wee hours, pull all-nighters, start missing family time and personal time, and go out for a drink after work to relax. Well, “That’s just what it takes to succeed in the practice of law.”

What is the typical response to an attorney's practice growing?

But as the practice grows, the typical response is simply, “I have more work to do, so I have to work harder.” So, the attorney keeps working harder, adds a couple of staff, and now has both more work to do and more people to try to manage. Unfortunately, the attorney typically has no managerial skills, nor a plan for growth, except to “work harder, work longer.”

Do attorneys have managerial skills?

Unfortunately, the attorney typically has no managerial skills , nor a plan for growth, except to “work harder, work longer.”. Soon, working nights and weekends becomes the norm, along with waking up at night worrying about what didn’t get done, and getting calls from irritated clients.

Is a lawyer cheap?

Most lawyers are cheap. They have a cash-flow mentality: “We can’t afford that.” They think of cost first and desired result … well, rarely. So even as they address any one of these six steps, they will tend to reduce their decision to the lowest — or cheapest — level. Then, when early actions fail to deliver the desired efficiencies or revenues, they will discard it as a bad deal and return to the “more work means more work” approach.

Can associates work in boot camp?

In most larger firms, associates are still working in a kind of extended boot camp, where it’s “let’s see who can survive the pressure.”. But for many, the alternative — starting their own firm — can be a nastier edition of the same game. Struggling to make a living.

How to protect work life balance?

To protect your work-life balance, help build a legal culture of cooperation and mutual support. Collaboration tools can enable you to help each other draft memos, review each other’s work, or cover for others in their time of need .

Why is it important to balance work and life?

A good work-life balance can increase productivity, create a happier work environment, lower absenteeism, and increase the overall health of employees. The benefits to balancing your personal life with your work far outweigh the costs.

What to do when you are overworked?

Self-Medicating. Oftentimes when employees get overworked or stressed, they turn to unhealthy eating and sleeping habits —these habits will only worsen the situation. Do what you can to limit your intake of things like alcohol, fast-food, caffeine, and other unhealthy things that often accompany stressful situations.

How many lawyers are dealing with alcoholism?

A study published by the American Bar Association stated that of those surveyed, 20.6% of lawyers and judges reported they are dealing with problematic alcohol use and 28% of lawyers admitted to experiencing depression.

What is legal professional?

As a whole, legal professionals are intelligent, ambitious, assertive, and creative types who understand the importance of working hard. They don’t sit around waiting for an opportunity to knock—they chase it. Many in the legal field strive to earn the best assignments and hustle to land the best cases.

What are the habits of a lawyer?

Here are the top 8 habits that destroy work-life balance for lawyers, and some tips for bringing your life back into harmony: 1. Being Disorganized. Success in legal is about being productive —but productivity drops drastically when you are disorganized.

What are the consequences of working as a lawyer?

Lawyers have been reported to be at a higher risk for depression, drug and alcohol abuse, heart disease, divorce, and suicide.

The Antidote to Lawyer Burnout

Sleep is intrinsically linked to mental health, “Adults with chronic sleep loss report excess mental distress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and alcohol use,” as shown by this NCBI study. Similarly, so is exercise. “Running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%” (Source: Help Guide)

What is it that makes work life balance as a lawyer seemingly unattainable?

An article published in the ABA Journal sums up the reason well, “It’s that they are driven by financial considerations to earn as much money as possible by billing as many hours as possible, and that means they sacrifice other things—like time with friends and family, a healthy diet and exercise—to the almighty billable hour.

Exercise One – Track Your Time for One Week

Don’t track just your billable hours here. For one week, track every minute of your day—from the minute you get up until the minute you go to bed.

Exercise Three – Schedule Time for Self-Care

In order to have any time for yourself, consider scheduling it just as you would for a client or a court date. And stick to it! This is something you can do incrementally and build up over time. Learn more here about Why Self-Care Is the Game-Changer for Your Law Practice.

Would you like to learn more about a way to practice law that will allow you to prioritize your family, your health, and your happiness?

New Law Business Model supports lawyers to have a life and law practice they love. Book a call with a Law Business Advisor today and learn how building a 6-figure (or more) law practice and achieving work life balance as a lawyer can be easier than you think.