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7 tips to strengthen the mind through identifying and overcoming implicit bias

Science explains that our minds are like icebergs: Our conscious awareness represents 10% of the iceberg above the surface of the water, and our unconscious awareness represents 90% of the iceberg unseen below the surface of the water. We are not aware of 90% of our thoughts/brain functions, which are unconscious—by definition.

James Gray Robinson

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How legal practice is like working retail

“Have you got your blade?” the leader asked, as we walk past the hoes on the corner.

Margaret Makar

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What this senior counsel learned from 'the solar-powered lawyer'

I sowed each seed in my garden with equal care and affection. I took great pains to ensure optimal growing conditions: watering them, providing the prescribed fertilizer and periodically extracting weeds.

Douglas Halpert

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A BigLaw partner's journey through clinical depression

Back in the day, I ran with the big dogs in BigLaw. Now, after suffering with clinical depression for more than 20 years and surviving a suicide attempt, I am happier than ever in the legal profession. My mental health journey is a cautionary tale, but one with a message of hope.

Kent A. Halkett

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11 tips to survive your freshman year as an associate

Concerns about starting your first job after law school are justified. It is terrifying. For many, the first year as an associate will be your first professional job. Little has prepared you for the difficult, confusing and stressful first year ahead.

Dustin M. Paul and Jennifer L. Eaton

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Top tips for lawyers who struggle with self-compassion to develop inner strength

There are three levels of positive responses to suffering. The first, sympathy, is merely the mental recognition that suffering is present. The second, empathy, includes an emotional component, with the effect that we feel for the person who is suffering. The third, compassion, includes the desire or motivation to do something about that person’s suffering.

James Gray Robinson

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The power of silence in legal practice

“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.” —Leonardo da Vinci

I have spent 40 years in practice and nearly as long serving as an official and unofficial mentor for young lawyers, as well as more than a decade as an educator at many levels, including law school. All these experiences…


James H. Fierberg

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The death of a lawyer: A journey from law school to retirement

On some mornings, fog shrouds the Ohio River, settling into the river valley like loosely applied caulk. Twenty-three years ago, while on my way to work, my car weaved through the thick, shape-shifting strands as I navigated Kellogg Avenue, which follows the contours of the river toward downtown Cincinnati.

Douglas Halpert

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How lawyers can honor Black History Month with action

This February, we mark Black History Month at a time of sharpened focus on institutional racism, the Black Lives Matter movement and a raging pandemic that has disproportionately impacted minority communities.

Lauren Stiller Rikleen

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5 ways to be shameless in 2021

Negative self-judgment is a career killer. When we believe that we are fundamentally flawed, it is like swimming upstream 24 hours per day, seven days per week. We aren’t born that way, but we learn that we are unworthy from an early age. The problem for lawyers arises when our careers do not go as planned.

James Gray Robinson

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