Year in Review

Top 5 Your Voice columns of 2019

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The ABA Journal’s Your Voice column is a unique outlet for lawyers to talk to each other, peer to peer. Unlike our reported stories, which demand objectivity and broader looks at legal issues impacting the nation, the Your Voice column is specifically for those who are living and breathing the profession of law every single day.

Practicing law can be stressful and funny and horrifying and beautiful, and Your Voice captures those moments and stories through the voices of those witnessing those career-changing moments.

Blair Chavis headshot ABA Journal Assistant Managing Editor Blair Chavis. Photo by Callie Lipkin/ABA Journal.

If you’re a lawyer and you’re struggling with work-life balance, changing the culture in your firm, or even trying to figure out how to handle a conflict with a client, there’s a high likelihood that other lawyers are, too. We ask lawyers who submit to the column to draw on those personal experiences and share them with their peers.

When asked to select my favorite published Your Voice columns from the year, it was certainly difficult to choose. We have so many columns that offer diverse perspectives and useful tips and advice for members of the profession.

The columns that I found most impactful were the ones that dug deeper, got personal and exposed the human side of the profession, and justice, itself—and sometimes they included a little humor, too. I hope you enjoy my picks for the best Your Voice columns of 2019.

We’ve appreciated your powerful comments and responses throughout the year on controversial and thought-provoking columns, and I hope you continue to share your thoughts and ideas as you’re reading.

Also, we’d love your feedback on which were your favorites from 2019. It will help inform selections for publication in the future. Email us at [email protected].


1. “What I got for Father’s Day: Reflecting on parenthood, the law and justice”

Written by William Horton


2. “Pro bono inspired a survivor of domestic violence to go to law school”

Written by Alyssa Leader


3. “The secret to successful lawyer leadership”

Written by Liam J. Montgomery


4. “Lawyers with depression can still zealously represent clients while embracing their humanity”

Written by Stephanie Mitchell Hughes


5. “What American legal education can learn from the ‘Harry Potter’ series”

Written by Sarah Gerwig-Moore


ABAJournal.com is accepting queries for original, thoughtful, nonpromotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors to run in the Your Voice section. Details and submission guidelines are posted at “Your Submissions, Your Voice.”

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