LegalFuel Speaker Series: Five Simple Lessons to Help You Earn More, Stress Less, and Be Awesome

This course has been approved by The Florida Bar for 1.0 hour of General CLE credit including 1.0 hour of Mental Illness Awareness Credit.
This presentation is designed to provide information on both individual wellness and what law firms can do to improve the quality of life for those who work for them - both attorneys and staff.
1. The first segment of the presentation provides a perspective on why employers are responsible for the health or toxicity of their work environments. It urges them to work toward creating healthy, non-toxic work environments. It discusses statistics regarding the economic and societal costs of toxic workplaces and provides suggestions on what employers can do to create healthy workplaces.
2. The second segment of the presentation is divided into the five lessons mentioned in the title. These lessons provide strategies that individual attorneys can apply in their lives and their practices to increase both their productivity and their quality of life.
The lessons are drawn from Nora Riva Bergman’s book 50 Lessons for Lawyers: Earn More - Stress Less - Be Awesome. They are focused on how attorneys can effectively and ethically improve their law practices and the services they provide to their clients.
Lesson 1: TANSTATM. There ain’t no such thing as time management.
Focused on how to better manage yourself to take better care of yourself and your clients.
Lesson 2: Get in the habit of planning.
Focused on how to leverage weekly and daily planning.
Lesson 3: Learn to manage needless interruptions or you’ll never be able to focus on anything.
Focused on the toll that needless interruptions take on a lawyer’s cognitive function, productivity and service to clients.
Lesson 4: Stop taking “D” clients.
Focused on why working with the right clients for your practice allows you to be more productive, serve your clients more effectively, and lower your stress level while improving your quality of life.
Lesson 5: Take a break, for crying out loud!
Focused on the importance of taking strategic breaks throughout the work day. This lesson also explores how attorneys can use mindfulness meditation to train their brains and improve their critical thinking and cognitive abilities.