Many people are feeling stressed out and burnt out because of the pandemic. Many people believe lawyers live in perpetual stress and burnout land. I can neither confirm nor deny this rumor. But I have seen several peers over my eight years in practice begin their careers in the law just to end them. I’ve had tough conversations with these people, who I consider friends, and heard and shared lamentations about whether the reasons they began walking this career path will ever come to bear.

This article is prompted by one such conversation I recently had with a peer. Although I was glad to listen, I want to do more than listen. To the extent that I have learned anything during my time practicing law, and to the extent that I have counseled patients on ways to relieve stress and deal with angst, grief, and depression during life-changing events in my former career as a social worker, I write to new attorneys to offer some advice on managing these feelings—take it or leave it. That being said, I am not a licensed therapist and, of course, an article is no substitute for therapy. I am merely sharing anecdotes from my experience that I hope you find useful.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]