Lawyers, just like psychotherapists, help other people straighten their lives. They support them through the toughest times of their lives. The amount of burden that comes with being a lawyer is often largely underestimated. Being a lawyer is undoubtedly one of the hardest jobs on earth. We want to help young lawyers by sharing with them some invaluable insights from the mega-successful tax and bankruptcy lawyer Dorothy Lawrence.
Dorothy is a mother, along with a lawyer, so she definitely knows how to handle stress. She is the founder and CEO of the Dorothy Butler Law Firm. She is a member of many prestigious law associations. She has remained Super Lawyers’ Rising Star nonstop from 2016 till this year! Austin Monthly listed her as a top attorney in 2020 and 2021. The New York Weekly Times recently listed her among the Top 10 Incredibly Impactful Women to Look Out for in 2022.
Here are some of Dorothy’s invaluable wellness tips for lawyers:
Don’t Bring Your Work Home
Dorothy Lawrence believes that one of the most common and serious mistakes most lawyers make is bringing work home. According to her, this is one of the biggest reasons behind stress in a lawyer’s life. Practicing law is already very stressful. It isn’t easy to deal with the stress of your clients. As a lawyer, you are most probably dealing with clients who are probably going through the most stressful times of their lives. She says:
“I can be a rock for my client and support them through what is likely one of the hardest times of their life – but I can’t bring it home and let it affect me.”
It can be very hard, but it is extremely important to keep your personal life separate from your professional life.
Figure Out Your Stress-Coping Strategies
In order to truly succeed in the field of law, you have to be able to cope with the immense burden of work and not stress. Dorothy’s stress-coping strategy is to spend as much time as possible with her children. This is what makes her great both at being a mom and a lawyer! She makes sure she has plenty of time to do the things she loves, apart from her job. Dorothy regards herself as a self-proclaimed Disney adult. She loves going on vacations and attends live concerts as much as possible. She is a professional musician as well. Dorothy deals with the job stress by making sure she has enough time for the activities she loves.
Improve Your Work-Life Balance
Maintaining a work-life balance is crucial for your work, life, and physical and mental health. Dorothy believes lawyers need to have a passion that isn’t necessarily the law. There must be something outside of your job as a lawyer that you must stick to and enjoy. For her, it’s mainly music. Dorothy is a professional musician who regularly performs at many theatres, such as Broadway Across America at Bass Theatre, Moody Theatre, and ZACH Theatre, to mention a few. She regularly performs in the greater Austin area. This past year she performed with both Andrea Bocelli and The Who. She is a concert lover. If you check out the hashtag #followredtotheconcert on Instagram, you will see many of her concert adventures.
Dorothy’s Advice to Law Students
Dorothy’s biggest advice to young lawyers is to not come out of law school thinking you know what area of law you want to practice in and exclude job opportunities that may come along in a different field. Fifteen years ago, Dorothy hadn’t even thought of becoming a financial attorney, focusing on tax and bankruptcy. Bankruptcy wasn’t even a subject she took in law school. In her personal life, she wasn’t so good at budgeting. But now, she is an absolute expert in financial laws. At the time, America was going through a recession, and bankruptcy lawyers were high in demand. She embraced the opportunity and is glad she did. The point is, she says, don’t have a rigid mindset regarding what field of law you want to practice. Be flexible, and life will present the best opportunities to you.
