Reviews of Legal Resources, 1216 COBJ, Vol. 45, No. 12
| Author | Elizabeth A. Weishaupl, J. |
Elizabeth A. Weishaupl, J.
The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation
by Jeena Cho and Karen Gifford Ankerwycke Books, 2016 251 pp.; $29.95
The Anxious Lawyer offers an eight-week introductory program on meditation to help lawyers attain a joyful and satisfying law practice through mindfulness. Authors Jeena Cho and Karen Gifford recognize that the practice of law is inherently stressful and that lawyers generally are competitive and overachieving by nature. Cho is a bankruptcy attorney who helps lawyers and law firms with stress management, work-life balance, and wellness issues. Gifford, who now works in the financial tech sector, formerly practiced law in the private sector and was a litigation and enforcement attorney for the Federal Reserve.
The authors note that lawyers have the fourth highest suicide rate among professionals and suffer from depression at twice the rate of the general population. Lawyers are also twice as likely as nonlawyers to abuse substances. Economic pressure on the profession in general, coupled with the pressure to win and advance client interests, serve as a constant stimulus to work harder, leaner, and meaner. And these pressures only increase with a lawyer's experience and responsibility. The good news is that meditation has been proven to reduce anxiety and depression among lawyers.
One barrier to starting a meditation practice, however, is finding time for it. Lawyers are busy people. The pressure to maximize billable hours in a modern legal practice is enormous. Lawyers are told that output can always be improved; there are always more cases, journals, and professional newsletters to read; and there are always more CLE programs to attend. Indeed, a lawyer’s standing in a firm, compensation, and professional recognition can be directly tied to the number of hours a lawyer spends at work. Just thinking about setting aside 5 or 10 minutes to meditate can cause the busy lawyer to feel guilty.
But without self-care, lawyers can’t do their best work. For example, anxiety can cause sleeplessness, which can lead to irritability and the inability to think. High-functioning lawyers must be able to think clearly, remain calm, and focus, sometimes on several projects at a time. A...
To continue reading
Request your trial