Book Review

• Citation: Vol. 51 No. 1
• Year: 2025

BOOK REVIEW Vol. 51 No. 1 Pg. 41 Vermont Bar Journal Spring 2025

Lawyer Like an Athlete: How to Up Your Game at Work and in Life

By Amy Wook

Publisher: American Bar Association (2024) 182 pages

Reviewed by Philip Back, Esq.

Don't judge a book by its cover, or even its title. The cover of this book depicts a mountain climber helping another climber (presumably a hapless lawyer) scale a boulder. For someone who hates exercise, the book's title, Lawyer Like an Athlete, suggests that the author will try to convince me to enter competitive sports in order to be a better lawyer. I was wrong.

This is an attorney wellness book, written by a non-lawyer. The author, who has a doctorate in psychology, offers a valuable perspective on attorney wellness. And if you don't believe me, believe her clients; she writes about her many lawyer clients throughout the book. Amy Wood has made a career of helping dissatisfied and frazzled lawyers around the country, and she puts on CLEs and seminars focused on attorney wellness.

Although the book does encourage lawyers to physically exercise, that is not its main thrust. I say physically exercise because the book is chock-full of mental (i.e., written) exercises, and the author absolutely encourages you to do those. Because the author is a psychologist and not a lawyer, she has no problem with labeling attorney wellness for what it really is — self-help. Lawyer Like an Athlete is a self-help book for lawyers. While some attorneys might scoff at the idea of a self-help book — and picture a shelf at a bookstore filled with dieting tips and advice on incorporating self-love or philosophy into your everyday life — attorneys committed to personal wellness and being good lawyers would benefit from reading this selfhelp book.

Amy Wood's research into elite athletes offers valuable insights for lawyers. Many lawyers, like professional athletes, are very competitive and push themselves to...