Articles | Page 3 of 15

Three Months of Saturdays—One Busy Lawyer’s Most Excellent Summer Sabbatical

By Chris Connelly Imagine every day is Saturday. The week is over, the successes and failures of the week are yesterday, the prospect of another week—stress, demands, egos, self-importance—is days…

BarCARES and LAP – Working in Harmony

By Zeb Barnhardt and Robynn Moraites There is some confusion for some between the NC Lawyer Assistance Program (NC LAP) and BarCARES. We hope to clear up the confusion. Both…

Messy, Unruly, Chaotic Life

After working at the NC Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) for the past 5 years, I can say with confidence that most of what we see clinically is lawyers’ and judges’…

A Parent’s Roller Coaster Ride into Recovery, Part 2

This story is continued from the last edition of the State Bar Journal. Finally, the time came for Brian to leave the treatment center. The day we picked him up,…

A Parent’s Roller Coaster Ride into Recovery – Part 1

My son is an addict. His addiction has had a profound impact on my life. Addiction—which includes alcoholism—is a disease, and it wreaks havoc on family members as well as…

The Dirty Not-So-Secret Ashley Madison Affair

“Life is short. Have an affair.” You might also want to have a good lawyer. And if you are a lawyer, you might want to “drop, cover, and hold on.”…

Getting Lost in Our Own Lives

Lawyers are especially adept at maintaining a façade. “Never let ‘em see ya sweat” is wonderful advice for entering into a tough mediation, negotiation, or lengthy trial. The problem arises…

The Enlightened Lawyer: Overcoming Stress and Creating Balance

You’ve already been at the office for nine hours. The senior partner is on your case about a research memo you haven’t had a chance to begin. That difficult client…

Stress, Burnout & Balance

Practicing law is stressful. Practicing medicine is stressful, too, but there is a difference, as illustrated in this example we often use in our CLE presentations: As a lawyer, you…

Positive Psychology for Lawyers—The Benefits of Positive Emotions

The emerging scientific field known as positive psychology helps us understand how the brain can change, and that we can purposefully change it to create more positive emotions. Positive emotions,…

Compassion Fatigue: The Price We Pay as Professional Problem Solvers

Most of us decided to go to law school because we had a passion for justice and helping people. While we may not think of the legal profession as a…

How I Almost Became Another Lawyer Who Killed Himself

The legal profession has a problem. Lawyers are suffering and, far too often, they are taking their own lives. Lawyers, as a group, are 3.6 times more likely to suffer…