My co-author, Chelsy Castro, and I believe that lawyers deserve to live happy, healthy, resilient lives. Our Lessons provide scientifically sound strategies and suggestions on how to apply the strategies to your life and your practice. We help you focus on your own happiness and wellbeing, and by doing so, you can improve your own life and influence the lives others. Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Our book gives you the tools you need to be the change.

Check out 50LessonsForHappyLawyers.com to learn more and get your free copy of Lesson 1. Like the law, happiness is a practice.

This morning, thanks to the Clio Cloud Conference 2020, I had the absolute pleasure of spending an hour with Angela Duckworth, author of author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Angela who has made it her life’s work to study Grit. In her words, “Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” She is brilliant, and you need to hear her message. She was asked this morning, “What separates the truly great from everyone else?” Her answer, “Microscopic gains made consistently.” She didn’t say small steps. She said, “Microscopic gains made consistently.” Microscopic gains. Gains so small that they are nearly imperceptible, yet when made consistently, over time they add up to massive change.

Microscopic Gains Made Consistently

I often say to my clients, “You can’t jump to the top of Mt. Everest. You must take it one step at a time.” Our brains rebel against massive change. Real change happens when our brains don’t even notice that we are changing. When we make microscopic changes consistently day, after day, after day those changes will stick.

Another important aspect of our growth and change is that it is not linear. Sometimes you may feel that you are not moving toward your goal. In fact, you may feel that you are actually moving away from your goal, when in reality, you’re doing what you need to get there. There is a wonderful example of this reality in the book On the Edge: The Art of High-Impact Leadership, by Alison Levine. Levin did, in fact, climb to the top of Mt. Everest. In the book, she talks about how in order to reach the top, climbers must not only climb up – but down.

So while it is important to spend time up high on the mountain in order to facilitate the metabolic cell changes necessary to carry oxygen throughout your body, it’s also important to spend time back down at a lower elevation in order to eat, sleep, hydrate, and regain some strength. It is indeed very physically challenging to be going up the mountain… then back down… then back up higher… then back down again. But psychologically it is incredibly frustrating as well, because you know you need to be going up in order to reach the top, but you spend a heck of a lot of time climbing down. What you have to remember is that even though you are physically moving away from your goal, you are in fact still making progress toward your goal because you’re helping your body acclimatize. . . . For whatever reason, we tend to think that progress has to move in one particular direction, but that’s simply not the case. Sometimes you do have to go backward— away from your destination— in order to reach it. The mental trick is to understand that going down does not mean you’re losing ground, but rather strengthening the foundation of your effort.
– From On the Edge: The Art of High-Impact Leadership

If you want to grow and change for the better, embrace these concepts. Take small steps consistently. Every, single day. And know that in order to reach your destination, you may sometimes need to go backward, then forward again. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Just know that is how change works! Now get out there and take that small step.

Want to learn more about Grit from Angela Duckworth? Her TED Talk on Grit has more than 21 million views. You can watch it here.

I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness.
Dalai Lama

At one time or another we’ve all had the same thought. “I’ll be happy when [fill in the blank].” For some reason we’ve been conditioned to believe that happiness is the result of something happening to us or that it is the result of something we achieve. But that is not how happiness works. Or maybe we’ve been conditioned to believe that if we have a certain amount of money or a bigger house or a new car or a better job, then we’ll be happy. But that is not how happiness works.

There are so many people who, by all outward appearances, should be happy. Yet, on the inside, they are suffering. In the legal profession, the pain of unhappiness is almost epidemic. Research has shown that attorneys experience depression at a higher rate than the general public. Given the stress that is so often part of the practice of law, it is not surprising that far too many attorneys suffer from depression. The good news is that there are things we can do to increase our level of happiness and decrease our feelings of depression. That said, please don’t take any of the suggestions in this post as a substitute for professional support. If you are feeling depressed, reach out and get the support you need.

What is happiness?
First, let’s define happiness. According the Miriam Webster Dictionary, happiness is “a state of well-being and contentment.” According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside, happiness encompasses both positive emotions and a sense of satisfaction. So, let’s get back to that definition. The truth is that while there may be common components of happiness, those components may differ from person to person. In her book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, Lyubomirsky shares her research on happiness and some of the myths around it.

Lyubomirsky notes three factors that determine our level of happiness: Set Point, Circumstances, and Intentional Activity. Our Set Point, which accounts for about 50 percent of our happiness is rooted in our genetics. Lyubomirsky sets out this research based on studies of twins in her book, so I won’t go into it here. I highly reading her recommend her book. Circumstances – what happens to us – account for only about 10 percent of our happiness. The remaining 40 percent of our happiness in life is determined by our Intentional Activity. Yes, we can increase the level of happiness in our lives by intentionally doing those things that make us feel happy. So simple. Yet, simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy.

Why practice happiness?
In his book, The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, Shawn Achor shares research from numerous studies demonstrating that when we are happy and in a positive state of mind we are better able to “make and sustain more neural connections, which allows us to think more quickly and creatively, become more skilled at complex analysis and problem solving, and see and invent new ways of doing things.”

Being happier will make you a better lawyer because when we are happy our brains simply work better. Yet, when you think of your typical day, how often do you feel happy? How often do you feel positive emotions? The work lawyers do – identifying problems, spotting issues, playing out “worst case scenarios” – can lead to an overdose of negative emotions when the exact opposite is what your brain needs to be at its creative best.

In addition to making you a better lawyer, being happy has many other documented benefits. According to research from the Greater Good Center at UC Berkeley, happiness benefits your health in six very specific ways.

• • Happiness promotes lower heart rate and blood pressure
  • Happiness strengthens your immune system
  • Happiness can reduce stress
  • Happiness can help to reduce pain and inflammation
  • Happiness combats disease and disability
  • Happiness lengthens our lives

Practice. Practice. Practice.
So, now that you know what happiness is and why it is important to your work as a lawyer and your life, what can you do about it increasing it? Increasing your happiness is all about doing things that, well, make you happy. I’m not suggesting you can flip a switch and become happier. I am suggesting that small changes every day can make a big difference in how happy you feel. Just like the law, happiness is a practice. And while practice may not make perfect, it does make permanent

Think Differently

“The biggest problem lawyers have is just getting in the way of themselves and being guided by other lawyers. In order to innovate, somebody needs to be an innovator. The greatest challenge I see for lawyers is that they’re going to try to correct the situation by just doing the same things. It doesn’t work.”

“Look at how consumers interact with services and products. They don’t interact with them in the same way that legal services are being rendered. So, there’s real opportunity for lawyers who are willing to be different. Now’s the time not to be the same.”

Learn How to Use the Internet

“99.9999% of lawyers have no clue how to use the internet. It’s built for relationships. It’s built for building a name. Most lawyers don’t know how to use it.”

“Lawyers have to understand the internet is an opportunity to communicate, to basically build your own room, so you can network with people, engage with people, and other people can see you doing that.”

Build Relationships

“I’m not an expert on what lawyers are going through right now. But I can tell you what I think should work for people, and that’s leaning on each other, engaging each other, and that may not be able to be done face-to-face. You’ve got to turn to the internet.”

Be Vulnerable AND Have Faith

“Until we’re vulnerable, it’s hard to take a step forward. Lawyers are afraid to be vulnerable, and maybe rightfully so. They think if they let their guard down, other lawyers will think less of them. Vulnerability means letting your guard down and doing something different. And if you don’t know what to do, that’s okay. People will help you along the way. Others have laid down paths that you can follow.”

“It takes a sense of faith in yourself and in the world that things will work out because they always do.”

Wise words from a brilliant guy who I’m now proud to call my friend.

Document Potential Business Interruption and Expense Due to COVID-19

An article from business consultants Conner Strong & Buckelew recommends that businesses consider five things when preparing for a potential business interruption:

1. Prepare a timeline.
2. Track and document key business metrics. *Attorneys should track all time spent dealing with COVID-19 issues.
3. Track and document expenses that are related to the event (these may be new expenses or increased expenses as a result of the event).
4. Track specific event related business activity, i.e. cancellations, customer complaints, returns.
5. Compile a three year look back of financial data

Click here to read the entire article from Conner Strong & Buckelew.

Employers Can Provide Tax-Free Disaster Payments To Employees

An article from Forbes online on March 23 explains how employers can provide tax-free payments to employees affected by the crisis. The article cites Section 139 of the tax code noting that “Section 139 has yet to be used for a national pandemic.” Below is an excerpt from the article.

A reasonable interpretation of the statutory text, however, reveals that, at a minimum, the following payments from employer to employee should be treated as deductible to the employer and tax-free to the employee, provided the expenses relate to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Medical expenses of the employee that are not compensated for by insurance (for example, the employee’s deductible and out-of-pocket expenses);
• The cost of over-the-counter medications and hand sanitizer;
• Funeral costs of an employee or a member of an employee’s family;
• The costs associated with enabling an employee to work from home throughout the pandemic, including the cost of a computer, cell phone, printer, supplies, and even increased utility costs of the employee.
• The cost of an employee’s childcare or tutoring for family members that are not permitted to attend school throughout the pandemic.

Click here to read the entire article from Forbes.

As I’ve watched the news over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed (and I’m sure you have, too) that there are lots of conflicting messages out there. “Anyone who wants to get tested can.” “We don’t have enough test kits.” “It’s OK to travel, just take precautions.” “Don’t travel. Airplanes are flying petri dishes.” “The coronavirus is no worse than the flu.” “The coronavirus is more contagious and more lethal than the flu.” People simply don’t know what or who to believe. This kind of inconsistent messaging can create not just stress, but panic.

I talk to my law firm clients a lot about the importance of consistent messaging – especially in times of change. If you’ve felt the stress of inconsistent messaging around the coronavirus outbreak, then you have a sense of how the people in your firm feel when communications from firm leadership are confusing and inconsistent.

Below are five rules for effective communication. While these rules focus on internal communications, they can be applied to external communications, as well.

1. Be clear.

Keep your communications as clear as possible. Don’t muddy the waters with equivocations. Be honest. With clarity often comes brevity. So, to the extent that you can convey your message clearly and succinctly, all the better.

2. Be consistent.

Make sure you know what you want to convey. If you are part of a leadership team or executive committee, make sure all the members are on the same page. Avoid situations in which one partner says one thing and another partner says something else. This is a recipe for disaster. You will inevitably have team members asking the same question of different leaders until they get the answer they want.

3. Say it. Say it. And say it again.

In marketing there is a rule that says a prospect needs to “hear” a message a minimum of seven times before they take action – or even notice it. This rule also applies to communication within your firm. You cannot overcommunicate in a time of change or uncertainty. Be clear. Be consistent. And say it again and again and again.

4. Be prepared for questions.

As a lawyer you are always anticipating questions – from your client, in depositions, in trials, and from the appellate bench. Apply this thinking to your office communications. Anticipate questions from your team. Be clear and consistent in your answers.

5. Acknowledge when you don’t have all the answers.

Finally, be willing to admit when you don’t have answers and commit to trying to get them. I say “trying to get them” because sometimes you won’t necessarily have an answer to a question. As with the coronavirus, there are some things we cannot know. But you can do your level best to get answers, then apply clear, consistent communication when you have the appropriate information.

So, I can hear you thinking, “Wait a minute. I’m already successful. I’m already thriving. It’s all good here. After all, my behavior has got me where I am today.” But where are you exactly? Are you where you want to be . . . forever? Are you done growing? Are you done improving or is there room for improvement? One of my favorite books on success and self-improvement is titled, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by the brilliant executive coach Marshall Goldsmith. If you’ve not read it, I highly recommend it.

What got you here, won’t get you there. Or in other words, the behaviors that brought you to this point in your life and career may not be the behaviors that will get you to the next level. They may be keeping you stuck right where you are. You can get unstuck. It’s all about adapting.

At its most fundamental level, the ability to adapt is essential to survival. At an individual level – a personal level, the ability to adapt is critical to our success. You already know this. You already adapt your behavior based on the situation and the people involved. Whether or not you realize it, you are adapting your behavior all the time. Do you behave the same way in court as you do when you’re at home with your family? I hope not! That would just be weird. The thing is, most of the time when we are adapting our behavior, we are doing it unconsciously. We are reacting to the situation and people the way we always have or the way we were taught. Often this approach can work. After all, it got you here. But there are other times when reacting how we always have doesn’t work at all. We’ve all been in situations where we feel like we just cannot get through to the other person.

What if you could be more intentional? What if you could better understand your own behaviors so that you could respond to a situation rather than simply reacting to it? Here’s the good news – you can.  So much of what we do is habit. Once we know what habits work for us and where we need to adapt, we can begin to make those little changes. Here’s more good news – you can begin to understand other people’s behavior, too. And you can use that understanding to communicate more effectively, reduce conflict, and build stronger, happier, more engaged teams.

Ready to get started? You can learn more here and by downloading my free eBook, D.I.S.C. The Universal Language of Observable Behavior.

Business colleagues smiling to camera in an open plan office

There are any number of myths about Millennial lawyers. They’re lazy. They have a sense of entitlement. They’re disloyal. These are myths. Just like every generation before them, Millennials are different from the last. And they have a tremendous contribution to make to your law firm, if you’ll work with them, not against them.

If you are not considering the needs of Millennial lawyers in your staffing model, your firm is suffering. You may not feel it now, but you will. In her book, You Raised Us – Now Work With Us: Millennials, Career Success, and Building Strong Workplace Teams, Lauren Stiller Rikleen, provides a comprehensive handbook for understanding, recruiting, developing and retaining a Millennial workforce. I highly recommend it! 

1. They are taking over the profession.

According to reporting by the American Bar Association, by the end of this decade Millennials will make up 75 percent of law firm staff. Whether or not you are ready, the era of the Millennial lawyer is here.

2. They want an inclusive firm culture and they want to contribute . . . now.

They are more diverse than previous generations. They have lived in a world in which the internet has always been available. This gives them a global perspective and connection to the world that previous generations have not had. It also means that Millennials are “digital natives.” They want (expect) that the firm will use the best technology it can reasonably afford.

With respect to inclusivity, think of the language you use. The terms partner and associate convey a hierarchy that – although it exists – may be counter to Millennial engagement. Instead, consider terms like “colleague.” Colleague connotes equality. It conveys trust and can motivate an attorney to step up to the plate if they are seen as an equal part of the team.

Millennials want to make a contribution immediately. Consider how this might inform your firm’s partnership track. What worked for Baby Boomers, in terms of “waiting your turn,” will not work for Millennials. They want to make a difference now. How can your firm capitalize on this enthusiasm?

3. They are committed to the concept of “doing well by doing good.”

With respect to your law firm, think of this concept as the ability to create a financially successful law firm while engaging in benevolent or charitable activities. These activities can include encouraging attorneys to provide pro bono service, and not “dinging” them on their billable hours. Or it might include taking on projects and supporting organizations that are unrelated to the practice of law. These projects could have a local focus such as supporting a local animal shelter or food bank. Or they could be more globally focused such as supporting ocean clean-up efforts or sponsoring entrepreneurship in developing countries through organizations like Kiva.

Take the time to explore these ideas within your law firm. You will be rewarded for it.

4. They want mentors.

The legal profession has a long history of talking about mentorship. Unfortunately, all to often, it is only talk. Over the years, bar associations have tried to fill the mentorship void by creating programs to match more experienced lawyers with newer lawyers. Sometimes these programs can work, but what Millennials want is a mentor (or mentors) within their own firm.

Millennial lawyers have grown up with all sorts of mentors in their personal lives from their parents, to coaches, to teachers. They want mentorship in their work lives as well. Firms that create meaningful mentorship programs will not only contribute to the development of their own attorneys, but will help to shape the future of the practice of law.

5. They will walk if they feel their work doesn’t align with their values and give them a sense of purpose.

In her book, Rikleen cites a 2012 study from Rutgers University which reported that “60 percent [of Millennials] were willing to sacrifice 15% of their salary to work for an organization whose values they share. To have a job that endeavors to make a social or environmental difference in the world, 45% of the student respondents said they would give up 15% of their income.”

Think about what those numbers mean for your law firm. You have the opportunity to develop a law firm culture that can attract and retain the best talent AND make a positive difference in the world beyond the clients you serve.

Thank you, Millennials.

Your ability to create powerful habits and use them to focus your attention on doing the right things will make a tremendous impact on your life. Throughout the day you’re faced with choices about how to spend your time. The choices you make in each moment will either move you toward your goals or get in your way. They will either increase your sense of control and decrease your stress, or they won’t. The choices you make each day about how you spend your time are creating your future. Right now.

In his book Goals! How to Get Everything You Want – Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, ^[8:1] Brian Tracy shares what he describes as the most important question of all when it comes to time management: “What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?” I love this question. It forces you to evaluate what you’re doing in the moment. It forces you to focus and prioritize.

But I’d suggest tweaking it just a bit. Instead of asking, “What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?” ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now part of my plan and moving me toward my goals?” This question gets you in the habit of evaluating what you’re doing on two levels – your plan for the day or week, and your longer-term goals. It will keep you on track and moving in the right direction.

The issue isn’t whether we get knocked off track. We all get knocked off track. The issue is how quickly we get back on track. A plane flying from New York to Los Angeles will be off track over 90 percent of the time! The pilots (or onboard computers) constantly check the plane’s instruments and make course corrections that ultimately get them – and their passengers – to their destination. Think of the question – “Is what I’m doing right now part of my plan and moving me toward my goals?” – as your course correction during the day.

Living the Lesson

• Get in the habit of asking yourself this question throughout the day: “Is what I’m doing right now part of my plan and moving me toward my goals?”
• Write this question on a sticky note and put it on your computer monitor, or anywhere you can see it. Keep it in front of you all the time.
• Ask the question, listen to the answer. Then, if necessary, make a course correction.

[8:1] Tracy, Brian (2010). Goals! How to Get Everything You Want – Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

One of the most powerful things you can do to begin to take control of your time, your work, and ultimately your life, is to get into the habit of planning. The power of planning comes not from flawlessly executing your plans; that may rarely happen! Rather, the power comes from the planning itself.

As the German writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Planning is the means by which you can identify the “things which matter most.” Without identifying “the things which matter most,” you will constantly be reacting to things that are important to others. You’ll always be putting out fires. Planning is the first proactive key to your time management success.

“But I’m too busy to spend time planning,” I hear you thinking. Get that thought out of your head. The return on your investment of time spent planning has been estimated as high as three-to-one. That means that 30 minutes invested in planning this week may recoup you as much as 90 minutes next week.

Here’s another reason why planning is so essential to your success. In his book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working,^[7:1] Tony Schwartz talks about the concept of “predeciding.” The concept of predeciding is a powerful way to change behavior. For example, if you want to stop eating junky, sugar-filled snacks at work, keep an assortment of healthy snacks in your desk drawer. By doing so, you’ve helped your brain “predecide” what you’re going snack on, lessening your need to rely on willpower alone. Planning is just another way of predeciding. Rather than constantly reacting to other people’s priorities, planning allows you to decide – in advance – how you will spend your day.

Predeciding should help a person protect goal pursuit from tempting distractions, bad habits, or competing goals…When you go into a day that’s unplanned, then you’re just faced with whatever hits you. If you have a plan, then you don’t let the unplanned things get in your way.
– From The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working

You may not always be able to execute your plans flawlessly. But that’s okay. As the old military saying goes: No plan survives contact with the enemy. And in your office, the enemy can appear in a variety of ways. Clients, opposing counsel, even the people on your team – sometimes it can feel like they’re all out to thwart your best laid plans. The enemy is anyone or anything that blows up your plan for the day or the week. Yet, the truth is, the only way to be ready for the enemy is to plan. Remember, it is the act of planning itself that is powerful. Planning forces you to:

• Identify critical issues and deadlines
• Anticipate potential roadblocks
• Prioritize your work and focus on “what matters most”

Living the Lesson

Take 30 minutes to plan your week.

• Schedule a weekly appointment with yourself to do your weekly planning. I suggest a minimum of 30 minutes on Thursday or Friday to plan the coming week.
• Include your key support person in your planning session.
• During your planning session, look at your calendar for the next month. Make note of deadlines and due dates.
• Schedule time in your calendar during the coming week to actually do the work associated with those deadlines and due dates. (See Lesson 12. Schedule time to do your legal work and work on your goals.)

Take 10 minutes at the end of the day to plan the following day.

• Do this before your legal assistant or paralegal leaves for the day. I recommend building in a quick huddle at around 3:30 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. (See Lesson 10. Put an end to “lurk and blurt” with huddles.)
• Review your calendar for the next day. Do you have everything you need for the day? Are the files you plan to work on in your office or accessible on your desktop or tablet? Are you prepared for your hearing? Depo? Client meeting?
• Identify the one thing that you must accomplish tomorrow if everything else goes south!
• Make sure your key people are clear on their top priorities, as well.

Use these focus statements with your team:

If we do nothing else tomorrow, we must ______________.

The single most important thing we must do this week is _________________.

You’ve got to think about the big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.
– Alvin Toffler

[7:1] Schwartz, Tony and Gomes, Jean (2010). The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working. Simon & Schuster, Inc.