Every other quarter, work and life take turns being demanding. Q4 is the one where they peak together.

Year-end deadlines, billing pushes, matters that need to close by December 31, and performance conversations all land in the same twelve weeks as Thanksgiving, school concerts,...

Somewhere back in January, you decided to build a habit. A morning routine, weekly business development, leaving at a reasonable hour. You started strong, life got loud, and by March it had dissolved into the pile of things you meant to do.

Instead of guilt, I want to offer a se...

This week I’m in Dallas speaking at a law school orientation about aligning your career with your values and strengths. The same week, my daughter Allison starts law school.

A couple of weeks ago our family was in El Salvador, where two other young women are pursuing legal educa...

“I was fine all day. Then I snapped at someone over nothing.”

I hear that from legal professionals constantly, usually with a little embarrassment attached. Right alongside a second version: “I had the whole day blocked to work on the thing that actually matters. I never got to ...

Something important is happening in the way this profession talks about well-being.

I noticed it on the very first day of the Professional Development Consortium Summer Conference in Atlanta last week, sitting in a session where "shared responsibility" came up. I remember thinki...

Most legal professionals I talk to can describe the feeling precisely, even if they can’t explain it. The day wasn’t unmanageable. The work went fine. But by the time they got home, they felt emptied out in a way that a good night’s sleep doesn’t fully fix.

This isn’t a stamina ...

Somewhere on your team right now, someone knows something that isn't being said. Not because they're withholding, but because they believe that openly raising mistakes, blind spots, and missteps won't be met with support, but with judgment.

It's a dynamic that Amy Edmondson, a r...

In 2017, the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being published a report that made a statement most of the profession wasn't ready to hear: "To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer."

The report went further. It argued that well-being is an indispensable part of a law...

My husband and I take an annual trip to Austin, Texas, to see dear college friends. 

The trip was everything I needed: good food (can you ever have too many tacos?), good music, driving and walking through beautiful scenery, lots of hot tub time, and late nights filled with laug...

When was the last time you did something creative - not to produce, perfect, or perform, but simply to play?

 May 30 is National Creativity Day, a reminder that creativity isn’t just for artists, musicians, or designers. Creativity belongs to all of us. And for those of us in la...

During my little sister’s birthday, I was looking through old photos, and I found one that really made me pause. It’s a picture of us as kids, riding our bikes. I’m in front, glancing back over my shoulder, and she’s behind me, looking up and following my lead.

That simple ima...

Let’s be real - lawyers are trained to argue. 

We build cases, poke holes in opposing arguments, and advocate fiercely. But outside of the courtroom? How we disagree matters just as much as whether we’re “right.”

I was scrolling Instagram the other day and I saw this quote by A...