Letter from the Editor-in-chief

• Publication year: 2019
• Author: By Somita Basu

Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

By Somita Basu

Somita Basu, Esq., is a founding principal and managing partner of the Santa Clara, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas offices of Norton Basu LLP. Ms. Basu is currently the incoming Editor-In-Chief of The Practitioner, a quarterly publication distributed by the the California Lawyers' Association's Solo and Small Firm Section, where she is also serves on the Executive Committee. Ms. Basu is based out of the Santa Clara office and lives in the South Bay with her family.

Reflection is a natural by-product of the end of any year, but especially so for solo and small firm attorneys. As one more hectic year ends and a new year dawns, we often wonder if the sacrifices and compromises we continuously make to stay afloat and independent are worth the time and effort. This can often be the by-product of our stressful professions, made more so by the unique challenges of practicing as a solo or small firm practitioner.

In this issue, we focus on how solos and small firm practitioners can focus on work-life balance. Sweeping the issues under the rug don't help; we try in this issue to shine a light on some areas that keep us all up at night and provide you with some insight and guidance.

Managing stress in your life as solo and small firm practitioner is a huge concern for many of us. While the successes are ours alone to enjoy, so are the failures and setbacks. Gayani Weerasinghe provides us advice on how to incorporate mindfulness into our lives to improve our mental well-being. Her advice is practical, non-judgmental, and enlightening.

While our mental well-being is important, most of us are pressed for time every day - there never seems to be enough hours in the day to complete our to-do lists. Kimberly Lee writes about actual tools and worksheets that we can use to help us...