If you are here, I imagine that you: (1) work in a law firm; (2) are stressed at work; or (3) stressed from working in a law firm. You are stressed enough that you are starting to worry about your mental and physical health because you feel overwhelmed and are on the verge of burnout. You are here because you are looking for solutions. Pat yourself on the back for choosing to take care of yourself!

The Law Firm

I am writing this blog because I have been where you are, found the tools to succeed, and wanted to share them. You can read my whole story later if you are interested, but I have worked more than 30 years in law firms so I know what it is like to work in a high-pressure, demanding workplace with multiple deadlines from multiple sources (court, bosses, clients). The work is NEVER ENDING; even if you finish the work on your desk, there is probably work your neighbor needs help with. The laws and rules are constantly changing, so even if you think you have a handle on the current rules, there might be rules you haven’t considered. Oh yeah, every county, state, and federal court has different rules. The law firm culture is hierarchical and you better know who your boss’s boss is, because they might give you work too.

If you are an attorney or paralegal, you have the extra added pressure of billing your hours with billing quotas for the month so 9 to 5 is more of a dream than your daily schedule. Oh yeah, there is that malpractice thing, so you better do everything right, no pressure. The competition with your peers both within and outside your firm is fierce.

For legal assistants, there is the added pressure of working for multiple bosses (sometimes assigned five at a time), and hoping that all five of them do not need something done at the same time. You also calendar all the filing deadlines (knowing all the rules for each county, state, and federal court, of course) and hope you are doing it right.

If you do not work in a law firm but made it to this site, your workplace probably has its own brand of stress, but it is very similar. The deadlines are different, but you are feeling overwhelmed and near burnout from all the work you have to do.

Bringing Calm to Chaos

This blog will look at ways to help you transform that stress into success, avoiding the overwhelm and eventual burnout. Here are some of the topics I will cover:

• Quick techniques to help you calm down and focus when you are feeling overwhelmed with work;
• Different types of stress;
• Time management strategies that will work for you;
• Motivation reboot;
• Communicating with difficult people;
• How to build resilience;
• Emotional regulation;
• The “M” words (stay tuned to find out what they are); and
• Other related topics you bring up that you would like to discuss.

Before I go any further, I ask you to please seek professional help (like a therapist or counselor) if you have been feeling overwhelmed and burnt out for a while and can’t seem to rise above it. The techniques and strategies I will be discussing are helpful, but sometimes we need additional support.

My Story

I started in the legal industry way back in 1987 as a temp receptionist in Los Angeles, and then quickly moved into a legal secretary position (that is what we were called back then). Did I mention that I was a temp? I had no intention that this was going to be a career move, but next thing you know, I have been a legal assistant for more than 30 years. I have also acted as an office manager in a law firm.

I moved to Oregon in 1995 and found work in the legal field easily enough. The second firm I worked in promoted me to become a trainer so I created the position and trained other legal assistants, paralegals, and attorneys on Oregon state and federal court rules and procedures. I also onboarded new employees.

When federal court went to electronic filing (the first court to do so), I learned the procedure and trained the entire firm on the process. I created a litigation training manual for Oregon rules and procedures and every assistant (we are being called that now), had the manual on their desk (paper version, old school). I reminded my manager of this when they laid me off in 2008 after 11 years (I still do not know why).

I managed to find a legal assistant job about 6 months after the layoff. It was not easy, as the rest of the world had also been laid off in 2008. It was a part-time position that I found on Craigslist. It quickly turned into a full-time position and then my boss and his partner decided to split off from the larger firm. I helped create a law firm from scratch, with all the necessary payroll, bookkeeping, billing, insurance, and HR procedures. I also continued to be a legal assistant and manager of our Oregon and California offices.

In my workplace travels, I worked for five different law firms (including some temp jobs thrown in there). In all those law firms, the culture was the same: way too much work, multiple deadlines from many sources, competitive employees, and difficult bosses (there I said it). The hierarchical structure existed in all of them and billing minimums were required for timekeepers. I saw many attorneys and staff who were stressed, overwhelmed, and eventually burned out. Turnover was high in all of them.

For some reason, I continued to thrive in this arena and I started examining why. I was assigned to attorneys who could not work with anyone else, and I got along with them fine. As I grew older and wiser, my stress levels in this culture became less as I learned some of the techniques I am going to share. There is a way to be successful in this business, and also not be continuously stressed and overwhelmed. You can increase focus and therefore persevere. I’m excited to share these techniques with you.

My Qualifications

While my kids were in high school, I admittedly got a little bored when they locked themselves in their rooms to study (hopefully that is what they were doing). I decided to start going back to school myself. I found a program online at Capella University and obtained my Master of Science in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I had already obtained my BA in Psychology many moons before in 1987, and I wanted to get back to it. I figured with my extensive experience in the work industry, that this degree was perfect for me.

I gravitated toward the organizational psychology side of the degree because it examines successful work cultures (and not successful) and the psychology of the employees who work there. Perfect! I had worked in a difficult work culture most of my career and I looked at the research conducted on them. I believe that I looked at every research study that was ever conducted with law firms (not as many as you think). Most of the results were grim. Law firms are not easy places to work. You and I could have told them that!

I joined the Organization Development Network of Oregon to get more experience in this area because they had an awesome hands-on program that assisted non-profits with their organization development needs. I worked on multiple projects helping with executive development, decision-making, and board functioning. Then I was asked to be on the Board and I accepted. Then the next thing I knew I was co-president and then President. I gained so much experience and education from some incredible OD practitioners who had practiced for years.

I wanted to go back to counseling or working more closely with people and discovered life coaching. I obtained a certification in Whole Person Coaching from Coach Training World where I learned how to help people find their strengths and develop awareness so that they could reach their goals and thrive. I am currently working on obtaining my ACC certification with the International Coaching Federation and should have that shortly.

Let’s Do This!

I am excited to start this blog and am happy you are here. I am confident that I can help with some of the stress you are experiencing so that it does not reach the point of overwhelm and eventual burnout. Like I said, I have been there, and have a good idea of what you are experiencing. I also know that there are solutions. It just takes a little awareness and a little practice.

See you soon!