The Wake Up Call for Lawyers

Happy 400th Wake Up Call! Whether you’ve been here for four weeks or 400, thank you so much for being here, and for your support.

In some ways it feels like we’re just getting started, but that’s how …

Is it possible to be a good lawyer and not scheme, persuade, or only hint at the truth?

Is it possible to not belittle anyone, and still be a passionate advocate? 

Are we in it just for the money, the …

There are moments when I know I’m 

aligned with whatever wisdom I have;

when I know that nothing I’m doing is supporting

a more weaponized, harmful, poisonous world.

And, there are moments when 

I’m conce…

Isn't it always good to come back to basics once in a while? The most basic questions on my mind these days are, is there love in my heart, and how can I bring it into the room?

You could say it's not…

As lawyers, how can we commit to the wisdom of not taking anything not freely offered to us? Or not taking more than we need?

How can we commit to not being biased against one another? To not continui…

Are there clients and projects that are so compelling that you’re willing to turn away from that quiet voice that says, “maybe not. This might not be right.”

No judgment!

It's just good to explore. It'…

How much do you pay attention to your spidey-sense? When you’re about to say something, or send that email, or post that shot: that quiet (or loud) voice that says, saying, ruh row, don’t do it.

That …

All the years of practicing law at a pace that makes light years seem slow? What if equanimity was always available, there for the dropping into, even in the most staggering moments?

I think it is, if…

Equanimity isn’t so mysterious….All we have to do, to be more equanimous, is give up our preferences, biases, and prejudices; our resignation and cynicism.

Simple! And as usual, not easy. But at least…

Concentration: it's such a gift. To be able to sit down at my screen in an undistracted way, to get something done without finding my mind sliding off into email or Amazon or some seemingly "urgent" …

Tranquility isn’t the first thing I think of when I think of practicing law. The intensity of practice, the issue-spotting mind, perfectionism, living surrounded by conflict? The “Four Perils” of the…

Joy.

In those midnight hours, staring at a screen, it can feel so illusive. There might be a sweet FB pic of a friend or a kid, or the moon might be rising right outside the window, but how to import …

With everything expected of us as practicing lawyers; and as teachers, parents, children, siblings, partners, and citizens of the world...with everything we take on, how can we have enough energy for…

These amazing legal minds. What if we spent some time investigating them? Taking the next step: mindfulness, then investigation. What could we discover? 

We could discover unwholesome qualities:anger,…

What does it look like, to be mindful of our own minds?

 What if we have no idea what we're thinking, or even that we're thinking? Or no idea what emotion we're experiencing, or even that we're experi…

Here's an interesting mindfulness note: when we're awake, whatever we're doing, whether it's seeing or hearing or thinking or feeling, on subtle and not-so-subtle levels we're either enjoying the mom…

We’re all aware of a beautiful sunset when we’re out at the beach, watching. We may even know that our eyes are seeing, as the sun dips below the horizon, that our ears are hearing, as the waves cras…

This world, or my world anyway, is full of messages about how I can become a better person.

In a way, mindfulness has fallen into that trap, too. But what if we don’t need to become better people? Wha…

There are so many “good” reasons why I keep my distance. Some of them have to do with being professional. Some have to do with not wanting to be tainted. Some are just about being lazy.

In my experien…

Another shooting. Another war.

Another moment of sorrow and grief. Another moment of wondering why. And another moment of us – the lawyers -  advising, representing, prosecuting. Doing our jobs.

Is the…