3 answers
Savannah
Student
Whitmore Lake, Michigan
16
Questions
Asked
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How do lawyers handle stressful situation
I am in 8th grade. I am taking a class called career and tech. My teacher said that I get to choose 3 jobs I am interested in and I decided to choose a lawyer. I just wanted to know how hard it gets and how stressful it get. #career #teacher #school #lawyer
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3 answers
Mariana León García
Senior Analyst and Lawyer
26
Answers
Mexico City, Mexico
Updated
Mariana’s Answer
Hello Savannah P!
Nice question, I´m a lawyer in Mexico City and according to my experience, let me tell you something about this. A career as a lawyer is one of the most sought-after professions and there are indeed many rewards if you pursue one. but also is one of the most stressful ones.
The lawyer's job can be a source of satisfaction, first of all because professional field of action is very competitive, but it will always have a high stress level, of which one should be warned; because when professional demands exceed our ability to respond in a sustained manner, stress becomes chronic and problems will appear that like any other can put your health at risk. In some cases lawyers spend more time of their life's thinking on how to solve their customers problems and you need to be very careful because like doctors one mistake and everything could change, someone can go to jail, or lose money or property, or a criminal who deserves to go to jail may be released.
The legal profession is no stranger to stress. As much as they say that our role is reduced to speaking and writing. On the contrary, the profession is highly stressful. You have to become aware of it, and prepare to know how to properly handle anti-stress resources. It is unlikely that we can change the things that stress us, but it is possible that we modify our reaction to them and thus improve our well-being or being well professional and human in general. The quality of life in professional practice is mainly in your hands, as being a lawyer or any other type of profesionist the principal tip is that you must balance work and personal life, ind spaces, activities or hobbies that help you control stress
I´m leaving you some articles that could help you understand better:
https://www.attorneyatwork.com/survival-skill-for-lawyers-and-stress/
https://blog.ipleaders.in/why-stress-management-is-critical-for-lawyers-to-succeed/
Hope this could help you understand better.
Mariana
Nice question, I´m a lawyer in Mexico City and according to my experience, let me tell you something about this. A career as a lawyer is one of the most sought-after professions and there are indeed many rewards if you pursue one. but also is one of the most stressful ones.
The lawyer's job can be a source of satisfaction, first of all because professional field of action is very competitive, but it will always have a high stress level, of which one should be warned; because when professional demands exceed our ability to respond in a sustained manner, stress becomes chronic and problems will appear that like any other can put your health at risk. In some cases lawyers spend more time of their life's thinking on how to solve their customers problems and you need to be very careful because like doctors one mistake and everything could change, someone can go to jail, or lose money or property, or a criminal who deserves to go to jail may be released.
The legal profession is no stranger to stress. As much as they say that our role is reduced to speaking and writing. On the contrary, the profession is highly stressful. You have to become aware of it, and prepare to know how to properly handle anti-stress resources. It is unlikely that we can change the things that stress us, but it is possible that we modify our reaction to them and thus improve our well-being or being well professional and human in general. The quality of life in professional practice is mainly in your hands, as being a lawyer or any other type of profesionist the principal tip is that you must balance work and personal life, ind spaces, activities or hobbies that help you control stress
I´m leaving you some articles that could help you understand better:
https://www.attorneyatwork.com/survival-skill-for-lawyers-and-stress/
https://blog.ipleaders.in/why-stress-management-is-critical-for-lawyers-to-succeed/
Hope this could help you understand better.
Mariana
Glenn Rowley
Attorney
36
Answers
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Updated
Glenn’s Answer
Savannah,
Chandni's and Mariana's answers are excellent. I commend them to you. I would only add that because the law is a jealous mistress, it will take from you all you are willing to give, even your faith and your family. It can be stressful trying to be a lawyer and still meet your obligations to God and to your family. I began a habit in law school of setting boundaries and putting God and my family first that helped me throughout my legal career. If you also put God and your family first, I know you will find the deep and lasting joy and peace you will need, in spite of the pressures and stresses of practicing law.
At the time I attended law school, I had a wife and five children. So, although my studies could have taken much more of my time, I put limits on how late I studied, so that I could still have time for my family. Also, to be faithful to God, I did not study on the Sabbath. Sticking to those limits was hard. Sometimes it meant going back to my studies after my children were asleep. Sometimes it meant studying until Midnight Saturday night, and then getting up at Midnight Monday morning to study. But, I know that I was richly blessed by God for putting Him and my family first. I graduated with highest honors from Law School, I had a rewarding and exciting legal career, and my faith and my family (which are the sources of my true peace and happiness) remain intact.
Glenn
Chandni's and Mariana's answers are excellent. I commend them to you. I would only add that because the law is a jealous mistress, it will take from you all you are willing to give, even your faith and your family. It can be stressful trying to be a lawyer and still meet your obligations to God and to your family. I began a habit in law school of setting boundaries and putting God and my family first that helped me throughout my legal career. If you also put God and your family first, I know you will find the deep and lasting joy and peace you will need, in spite of the pressures and stresses of practicing law.
At the time I attended law school, I had a wife and five children. So, although my studies could have taken much more of my time, I put limits on how late I studied, so that I could still have time for my family. Also, to be faithful to God, I did not study on the Sabbath. Sticking to those limits was hard. Sometimes it meant going back to my studies after my children were asleep. Sometimes it meant studying until Midnight Saturday night, and then getting up at Midnight Monday morning to study. But, I know that I was richly blessed by God for putting Him and my family first. I graduated with highest honors from Law School, I had a rewarding and exciting legal career, and my faith and my family (which are the sources of my true peace and happiness) remain intact.
Glenn
Chandni Patel
Lawyer
1
Answer
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Chandni’s Answer
Hello Savannah,
I am a lawyer in the UK. I agree with Marianna's post above and would like to add further to it.
In terms of coping mechanisms with the stress, there are several behaviours which are useful for lawyers to adopt.
The first is to be very organised, in both personal and professional lives. Being organised (whilst requiring some time upfront to get organised) will save you time in the long run and enable you to fit in last minute requests or unexpected events (the main causes of stress).
The second, is to put some time and effort into developing good relationships with those you work with. The better the relationship, the more likely you will be able to agree workable deadlines and with some colleagues, share the work out so that it is more manageable.
The third is to work on your personal behaviour. Personal behaviours (which will probably be relevant for any job) include: 1) eating well; 2) ensuring you get enough rest and sleep; 3) exercising; 4)making time for a personal life (friends, family, relationships etc.); 5) practise mindfulness; and 6) doing something you enjoy just for fun.
It does get very difficult to manage everything, especially as the hours of a lawyer often require you to work outside of the usual 9-5 day. However, if you practise the personal behaviors now as a student, you will find that you get to know yourself and will know where your own boundaries lie (in terms of how often you need to exercise or for how long, how much sleep you need, the food that works for you etc) and in turn, will learn manage situations in way which either does not cause you stress in the first place, or reduces it significantly. This will help you manage stress in a lot of situations and will hopefully serve as a good grounding to manage stress as a lawyer.
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions, please feel free to post.
Kind regards,
Chandni
I am a lawyer in the UK. I agree with Marianna's post above and would like to add further to it.
In terms of coping mechanisms with the stress, there are several behaviours which are useful for lawyers to adopt.
The first is to be very organised, in both personal and professional lives. Being organised (whilst requiring some time upfront to get organised) will save you time in the long run and enable you to fit in last minute requests or unexpected events (the main causes of stress).
The second, is to put some time and effort into developing good relationships with those you work with. The better the relationship, the more likely you will be able to agree workable deadlines and with some colleagues, share the work out so that it is more manageable.
The third is to work on your personal behaviour. Personal behaviours (which will probably be relevant for any job) include: 1) eating well; 2) ensuring you get enough rest and sleep; 3) exercising; 4)making time for a personal life (friends, family, relationships etc.); 5) practise mindfulness; and 6) doing something you enjoy just for fun.
It does get very difficult to manage everything, especially as the hours of a lawyer often require you to work outside of the usual 9-5 day. However, if you practise the personal behaviors now as a student, you will find that you get to know yourself and will know where your own boundaries lie (in terms of how often you need to exercise or for how long, how much sleep you need, the food that works for you etc) and in turn, will learn manage situations in way which either does not cause you stress in the first place, or reduces it significantly. This will help you manage stress in a lot of situations and will hopefully serve as a good grounding to manage stress as a lawyer.
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions, please feel free to post.
Kind regards,
Chandni