by: Reid Trautz, JD, Guest Columnist
The life of a lawyer, especially a solo or small
firm practitioner, is often stressful. Stress itself
is not necessarily a bad thing; some people thrive on
stress. Our body’s reaction to stress actually helps
us to meet the sudden demands and extra tasks that
we face as busy lawyers. However, too much stress
too often–chronic stress--takes its toll on our
physical, mental and emotional well-being. That, in
turn affects or personal lives and our ability to serve
our clients. The trick is to eliminate some of the
stressors in life, and build our resiliency for the
stresses we cannot change. Try to incorporate one
or two of the following practical tips into your daily
routine in an effort to help you reduce your stress
and enhance your performance in the practice of
law.
1. Don't Let Your
Client Make You Work for F'ree: Make
sure you are the one who decides which cases you
will do pro bono, not your clients. Working for clients
who can’t or won’t pay their bills leads to frustration
and anger, which can lead to you ignoring the file
and the client, which can lead to a disciplinary
complaint. Working for non-paying clients is worse
than not working at all. Remember to follow all
procedures for withdrawing from the attorney-
client relationship.
2. Take a Vacation
Every Afternoon: Take a five-minute
break each afternoon and practice imagery--a
popular relaxation technique. Imagery is sitting back
and remembering a favorite event such as a vacation
or a round of golf. Try to use all of your senses–hear
the sound of the surf, smell the salt air, feel the sun
on your skin, see the colors of the setting sun. Feel
free to leave out the thunderstorm or the triple-
bogey or other negatives of this memorable event.
Enjoy the moments again, then get back to work!
3. Color code forms
and files to make them easier to locate in your
office: Develop a
simple system within your office that everyone can
use. For example, different types of cases such as
bankruptcy, real estate, or personal injury may have
different colored files–not just colored labels; this
makes it easier for people to locate files in a busy
office. Also, forms such as conference notes,
checklists and court appearance memos can be
printed on different colored paper to make them
easier to locate within a file.
Reid Trautz is a lawyer and
practice
management consultant to solo lawyers and law firms
nationwide. He is a nationally-known speaker on
important issues facing lawyers in the business of
law, including financial management, client
communications, and risk avoidance. Reid can be
reached via his blog at www.reidmyblog.com or email
at rtrautz@cox.net
©2006 Reid F. Trautz
