Here's a selection of some things I've written and said over the last decade or so: Get help! (Patent Lawyer Magazine / LawCare. May 2023) How to improve the mental health of lawyers (in 20 simple steps) (Solicitors Journal. October 2022) Lawyer wellbeing in crisis (The Impact Lawyers. November 2021) Sidestepping burnout (Modern Lawyer. October 2021) Life in the Law (The Impact Lawyers. September 2021) Beating burnout (stress management webinar
I recently wrote a review in The Law Society Gazette of 'Vicarious Trauma in the Legal Profession: a practical guide to trauma, burnout and collective care' by Joanna Fleck and Rachel Francis. It is excellent. Check out the review here.
Over the last 30 years or so diverse groups from global corporations to children in primary schools have used a method devised by Edward de Bono for using complementary skills and abilities in decision-making. He contended that decision making by argument is inefficient, ineffective and extremely slow. And it was never designed to be constructive. This is of course the antithesis of an adversarial approach which comes as first nature
Here's another five step sequence to think about the underlying dynamics in the relationship from both persons’ perspectives. This is informed by Berne's Transactional Analysis (TA) parent-adult-child model. 1 Breathe. 2 Parent. Is one or other person taking a dominant or dictatorial role in the conversation? Are they being directive? Is this appropriate? (Clue: in most adult relationships adults are expected to act like grown-ups and to treat
So, let's say you're talking with someone and you want to know more clearly what might be on their mind or what they might be feeling. Try this five step sequence, using your fingers if you like, to help you to be curious about what might be going on for them: 1 Breathe Firstly, simply be aware of your breathing. This will help focus. 2 Face Next, what
George Bernard Shaw observed, “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it”. Dealing with difficult people can be like wrestling with pigs. But we don't have to wrestle; we can listen and talk instead. We can choose not to go in the sty. Clients and opponents, and sometimes fellow workers, can demand our time, attention, and compliance.
