It's in the headlines:
“For the first time, attorneys surveyed in Bloomberg Law’s Attorney Workload and Hours survey reported experiencing burnout in their job more than half the time, and an increased number of respondents reported that their overall well-being had declined.” (See Bloomberg’s ANALYSIS: Attorney Well-Being Declines, With Burnout on the Rise)
“Work stress eventually spills over into family life, and lawyers may find themselves drinking too much, getting into unnecessary arguments with family members, sleeping poorly, and eventually losing interest in their work or life in general. That’s called burnout.” (See Florida Bar Article The Mindful Lawyer).
The COVID-19 pandemic heightened this issue and brought to light how the imbalance in a lawyer’s work-life plays on their mental health and overall wellbeing. Lawyers are at an especially high risk for burnout because of the job and the personality traits attorneys tend to have. Solo practitioners may be at especially high risk of burnout because they tend to do everything from billing to business development to marketing to law themselves, which can be a recipe for disaster.
BUT you can take actionable steps to identify and prevent burnout!
1. Review individual workloads and remedy overallocation
Work with your team or your office manager to create a list of tasks that can be delegated. Fire yourself from doing any tasks below your paygrade. It is also important to review the workloads of paralegals and other legal staff. Can their work be outsourced to a virtual receptionist or a virtual paralegal?
How we can help: The virtual paralegals at Opulent Landholdings’ Attorney Services can help by taking on these excess tasks on an as-needed basis.
2. Embrace legal technology
There are various practice management software available that can help attorneys get organized and manage important information and deadlines. Trying to remember court deadlines can be one of the most stressful part of being an attorney and stress leads to burnout. Utilizing a practice management system can help to track these deadlines and keep you organized and on top of your cases, lowering your stress level and making for happier clients.
How we can help: We can help setup and maintain your practice management system.
3. Hire help
For attorneys who survives by billable hours, taking time off to recharge can create its own stress. Time not worked means taking a revenue hit. Yet taking the time to recharge may be necessary in the long run and will likely improve productivity in the short term.
How we can help: The virtual paralegals at Opulent Landholdings’ Attorney Services can help with daily tasks and ensure that cases move forward while you take time to recharge.
