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Findingjoyinthepractice
This document summarizes a presentation on finding joy in one's legal practice given by Tea Hoffmann. Some key points: - The legal profession is facing challenges like increased rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse among lawyers. Many lawyers feel unprepared, dissatisfied, and lack work-life balance. - The presentation discusses how lawyers' brains are wired to focus on problems and winning, which can lead to unhappiness. It argues lawyers should focus more on serving clients well and finding internal sources of joy rather than external validation. - Lawyers can only directly control certain aspects of their work and lives, not broader factors. The presentation encourages lawyers to reflect on what they can control, like their effort,
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Findingjoyinthepractice
- 1. Tea Hoffmann, Esq. Controlor Confront: Finding Joy in Your Practice 1
- 2. Objectives 2 • Where thePractice is Today • Issues Impacting the Practice • How Our Brains Are Wired • Control or Confront – Your Choice • Creating Change and Finding Joy
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- 5. Where the Professionis Today By the numbers • 1.3 million active licensed practicing lawyers in 2017 • 38,000 students entered law school in 2017 • 33,000 are predicted to graduate in 2017 (trending down) • 73% of associates felt they were ill- prepared to practice Result • 28% admit being treated for depression • 12% have suicidal tendencies • 19% are being treated for anxiety • 21% suffer from alcohol addiction • 16% use a sedative daily • 6% admit using hard drugs regularly and 21% used hard drugs in the last year • 52% are dissatisfied with their career choice 5
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- 7. Other trends… 7 Rate pressure Lower demand Age gap Retiring partners Alternativefee structures Competitive products/firms Staffing issues Lower or flat profitability More savvy clients Generational differences
- 8. “American law has migratedfrom being a practice in which good counsel about justice and fairness was the primary goal to being a big business in which billable hours, take-no-prisoners victories, and the bottom line are now the principle ends.” Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D. 8
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- 10. The Tetris effect(also known as Tetris Syndrome) occurs when people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It takes its name from the video game Tetris. 10
- 11. Lawyers • Spend ourdays looking for what is wrong and enjoy finding it and pointing it out • Winning is the goal and losing means your a loser • Judge ourselves by the amount of time we bill, money we collect or position within the firm • Make great money but rarely enjoy the fruit of our work and feel guilty when we do • Avoid conflict if at all possible • Have few true friends at work because we are competing all the time and we gave little time for friends outside of work • Don’t want to be managed or told what to do – independent thinkers • Not great team players 11
- 12. “I sometimes feellike I am going to explode. I spend my time reacting all day. I have lost control of my life at work and at home.” – Coaching client “Your life does not get better by chance, it get betters by change!” – Jim Rohn 12
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- 14. Happiness The outcome ofa pleasurable experience or event. It is fleeting and often leads to deeper despair. 14
- 15. Joy (a): the emotionevoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight (b): the expression or exhibition of such emotion: gaiety 2:(a) state of happiness or felicity bliss 3: a source or cause of delight 15
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- 19. And resolve tocomfort what you need to control to find more joy! 19
- 20. You cannot control… • Theweather • What others think • Choices others make • Your competition • The outcome • Your race, gender or sexuality • Who loves us • The passage of time • What others feel • The past • Aging • Where we came from • Our height, hair color and skin tone • The economy • Change • Fairness 20
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- 23. What can you control/confront? •What I eat and drink • My work effort and product • My client’s experience • My appearance • How honest I am • How kind I am • My communication style • My ability to be patient • My sleep • How I communicate my needs/wants • Distractions • Responsiveness • How organized I am • How I plan my time • Whether I delegate • If I say “yes” • Whether I take responsibility for my actions • My boundaries • My legacy • My anger • My fitness/health • What I learn from my mistakes and successes • My personal growth • My brand • My expertise • Our circle 23
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- 25. So? • What willyou control or confront? Pick two things. • What is NOT success for you? • What is true success? • What is your IT? Are you working towards it? • Life is not fair…don’t dwell on it • You are the author of your book…what kind of book is it? Biography or fiction? • What do you value? Are you living those values? • What do you need to eliminate? • What negative people do you need to ignore? • What are you grateful for/who are you grateful for? Have you acknowledged it/them? • What mistakes have you made that you need to own/acknowledge? 25
- 26. Thank you! For moreinformation or a copy of this presentation email me at teahoffmann@lawstrategycorp.com. 26
Editor's Notes
- #6 According to the ABA, 46,478 JD’s were awarded in the United States in 2013. That’s the largest number of law school graduates in American history. With an estimated 33,791 students graduating in 2017, that will be the lowest number of law school graduates since 1978. Of the lawyers that did answer those questions, 5.6 percent used cocaine, crack and stimulants; 5.6 percent used opioids; 10.2 percent used marijuana and hash; and nearly 16 percent used sedatives. Eighty-five percent of all the lawyers surveyed had used alcohol in the previous year. (For comparison sake, about 65 percent of the general population drinks alcohol.) Nearly 21 percent of the lawyers that said they had used drugs in the previous year reported “intermediate” concern about their drug use. Three percent had “severe” concerns.
- #13 Marketing First, let’s define marketing and its function. Mar keting is necessary to understand the wants and needs of a law firm’s target market and involves developing a strategic plan to establish the firm’s overall message, benefits, and capabilities. The marketing department should be responsible for executing a number of strategic tactics, including the design of marketing materials and websites, and must ensure that all of the information online and in other materials is consistent and accurate. The marketing department’s role within a firm includes, but is not limited to: refining and communicating the firm’s current service offerings and identifying new ones that should be added; providing education about the firm and its services; creating and maintaining a professional and consistent image for the firm; managing visibility through public relations, the website, and other marketing collateral; measuring success toward reaching marketing goals; and monitoring the effectiveness of campaigns. In order for law firm marketers to be successful, they must have a diverse set of skills including: knowing the legal industry dynamics and audience, the ability to think strategically, and measuring their success by tracking completed tasks. If an individual or team is hired who can meet this criteria and also fulfill the tasks assigned to the marketing department, the law firm will thrive and revenue will increase. Business Development Business development can begin after a marketing plan is in place. This department should be responsible for forming partnerships and strategic relationships with referral sources and other professional contacts in target markets in order to bring in new clients. This may also include developing new markets in different geographic areas. Business development specialists should be expected to join trade associations and attend trade shows, develop prospect and referral source lists, and assist in following up after direct mail campaigns via email and phone calls. A successful law firm business developer must possess many key skills and traits. These include knowing the industry dynamics, managing time strategically, the ability to make personal connections, and being resourceful. The success of the person in this position is easily measured by the number of referral sources and prospects, and the amount of new work gained. Marketing and Business Development Working Together The marketing and business development departments have many opportunities to collaborate, which your law firm should take advantage of in order to maximize efforts and ensure that tasks are not duplicated. To ensure the firm uses its marketing and business development resources efficiently, these six tasks should be coordinated between both departments: Strategy and Planning – smooth communication of firm messaging Firm Messaging – amessage should be developed based upon how the firm is qualified to meet the wants and needs of a client Content – items created by marketing, such as articles, blog posts, and webinars should be based upon information on topics that the target audience wants to learn more about Hosted Events – marketing handles the coordination and promotion of the event, while business development provides personal outreach following the event Speaking Opportunities – the marketer successfully pitches a partner at the firm to speak at an event, and the partner or other business developer meets prospects, hands out business cards and follows up post-event Client Feedback – both marketing and business development must be aware of changes to client needs and challenges and adjust how the firm responds to these Marketing and business development possess skill sets that complement each other and work together to help a law firm thrive. It is critical for firms to take advantage of the strengths from each department while also recognizing their differences. A firm that understands how these departments can interact and support one another will benefit in the future and have a higher return on investment.