Personal Development
Lawyer Coaching: Reaching for the Work/Life Balance
One in three lawyers would like to change their working conditions so that they experience less stress and spend less time at work and more time on a personal life. This was the unsurprising result in an independent survey paid for by The Associates, a U.S. placement agency for lawyers.
Similar feedback came throughout the online seminar, Stress, Substance Abuse and the Legal Community, offered in December by Law.com.
The seminar, moderated by Michael Cohen, Director of Florida's Lawyer Assistance program, explored the question: What are the forces in the legal profession which cause some members to succumb to depression, stress, burnout, and addiction?
One managing partner, participating in the online discussions, put it this way. "As lawyers we tend to view stress as a good thing and depression as a weakness, instead of recognizing that both are symptoms of a life out of balance."
Law firms that do not recognize the necessity for lawyers to pace themselves and seek a balance this allow enthusiastic young lawyers to lead the charge: working maximum billable hours for a few years only to crash and burn. In addition, these pack-leaders may bring down the house, as well as themselves, with malpractice claims and lost clients.
As Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing" that issues of lawyer stress and burn-out are being raised in various forums, but in the meanwhile what is the poor, stressed, out-of-balance lawyer to do?
One of the choices available now is coaching. Coaching is a relatively new service profession - about 7 years into its development. Its rapid growth and increasing profile suggest that it has struck a chord with individuals, even those who are "coping just fine, thank you, but would appreciate a little support, if you don't mind."
Coaching is for healthy, creative people who are under too much pressure from too little time and what seem like too few choices. Coaches work with individuals to assist them to look at their lives and work from different perspectives, to adopt new priorities, and to plan their course of action to accomplish the kinds of change that will put them on a path to a new balance and fulfillment.
Other views and arguments for coaching for lawyers
FAQ: What is Coaching? by Cheryl Stephens
On Coaching for Lawyers by Ed Poll, LawBiz
Seven Reasons Why Lawyers Hire a Coach by Irene Leonard, Coaching for Change
