Three Law Students and What Values Alignment Actually Requires emotional intelligence leadership performance values well-being Aug 20, 2026

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...

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Why Complex Work Makes Emotional Regulation Harder cognitive load emotional regulation leadership performance well-being Aug 14, 2026

“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 ...

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Well-Being Is a Shared Responsibility. Here's What That Actually Means. cognitive performance culture leadership performance well-being Aug 05, 2026

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...

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The Neuroscience Behind Why Legal Work Is Uniquely Demanding cognitive load mindset neuroscience performance well-being Jul 01, 2026

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 ...

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What a Culture of Mistake Tolerance Actually Looks Like in Legal Organizations leadership performance psychological safety well-being May 14, 2026

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...

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The Case for Well-Being as a Professional Competency in Legal Practice leadership performance professional development well-being May 05, 2026

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...

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How A Little Connection Goes A Long Way emotional intelligence habit happiness performance well-being Nov 14, 2025

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...

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Creativity Day: What If This Is the Key to Sustainable Success? change growth mindset performance May 28, 2025

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...

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🚲 What Riding Bikes Taught Me About Leadership 🚲 efficiency growth performance strength Apr 11, 2025

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...

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The Secret to Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable confidence growth mindset performance Feb 07, 2025

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...

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The Power of Mentorship: Lessons I Learned from My Mentor confidence growth performance productivity Jan 24, 2025

Great mentoring can change everything, and I’ve experienced that firsthand.

When I arrived at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue my master’s in social work, I felt like I had landed on another planet. I wasn’t just out of my comfort zone—I couldn’t even see it in the rearv...

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Engaged But Exhausted: The Hidden Risks of Being "On" All the Time health performance productivity self-care Nov 08, 2024

Ever wonder if you are super engaged, super burnt out, or maybe even both?

Once, I had an exhilarating (and exhausting) schedule that started bright and early at 6:45 a.m. logging in for a speaking engagement for the Bar Association of the Maldives alongside my friend and Chief ...

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