Filtering by Tag: mental health tools

A longer winter break / WYLC mental health panel

August 09, 2017  /  Katie Cowan

Hello my lovely listeners.  Just a quick check in to say that instead of returning this week we will in fact be taking an indefinite hiatus while I give full attention to a health issue I am dealing with.  I do have some wonderful guests scheduled to record later in the year but just when we will be recording and releasing those episodes I do not know yet.  Stay subscribed to the podcast feed or to Facebook or Twitter and you will know when we start back up.

In the meantime, subject to that health issue, I am appearing on the Wellington Young Lawyer Committee panel on junior lawyer mental health and wellbeing on 16 August, so if you want a podcast-like fix and you are in Wellington, please come!  You can book here.

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categories / Podcastless
tags / mental health tools

Episode 17 - NZLS President Kathryn Beck talks employment law, the future of New Zealand lawyers, and loving your work

May 08, 2017  /  Katie Cowan

Hello again beautiful listeners.  This episode I went to Auckland to sit down with the Law Society's current president, Kathryn Beck, who is also a partner at employment firm SBM Legal.  We had a delicious wide-ranging conversation about her career as an employment lawyer, her longstanding involvement in different parts of the Law Society, her vision for the best future for law in New Zealand, her advice to new lawyers, her thoughts on mental health for lawyers, and her joy and love for the practice of law.  It is always wonderful to watch someone who loves what they do, do what they do, and now you all get to listen along to that too.  There is so much in this discussion, feel free to take it in bits if need be, with breaks for refreshment etc. 

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categories / Guested, Senior lawyer
tags / area of practice: employment, mental health tools, issues: mental health, issues: gender diversity, issues: burnout, law society, issues: access to justice, issues: imposter syndrome, issues: getting your first job, issues: job-hunting, partnership, advice: love your work

Episode 16 - Anna talks all-or-nothing in practice, the work of a litigation solicitor, and what great law firm culture looks like

April 23, 2017  /  Katie Cowan

This week's episode is almost a case study for episode 15.  I talked to Anna, a third year litigation solicitor at a mid-sized firm about how she found some moderation in her all-or-nothing personality type.  The answer seems to lie in the direction of self awareness and a great law firm culture, with a touch of mindfulness practice thrown in.  I particularly loved getting into what makes her workplace so supportive of sustainable success; it's a recipe for us all.  We also had lovely chats about how she came to work at that firm in only second year of law school, and her experiences as a young woman lawyer (there is even some comeuppance, listeners!).  I do hope you enjoy.

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categories / Guested, Junior lawyer
tags / medium size firm, mental health tools, area of practice: litigation, solicitor, the virtue of: senior support of juniors, issues: practice as a woman, issues: anxiety, postgraduate study, the virtue of: supportive work culture, the virtue of: enjoying your work

Episode 15: Psychologist Mike talks burnout, the gentle antidote to an extreme lawyerly personality, and tools for sustainable achievement

April 09, 2017  /  Katie Cowan

This episode is a bit different from others in that Mike is not himself a lawyer, but he treats lawyers in his practice as a clinical psychologist and basically wrote a book about us, so it counts. We discussed all or nothing personalities (of course), the antidote to the extreme versions of that personality, the consequences of letting your all or nothing nature rule your life, and what life looks and feels like when it's not quite so all or nothing.  

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categories / Guested, Non-lawyer
tags / issues: burnout, advice: get a psychologist, issues: culture of law, issues: anxiety, mental health tools, issues: male mental health, issues: mental health, issues: stress management

Episode 11: Clayton talks quarter-life crises, unorthodox career paths, and practising with depression

February 06, 2017  /  Katie Cowan

In this episode I speak to Clayton Carrick-Leslie about all sorts, but focusing on two key areas: (1) career paths and options, including part time work, inhouse counsel work and law-related management and leadership work, and (2) depression, suicide, quarterlife crises, and how to live and work amidst these things.  Clayton talks about his own experiences with depression and the impact of a friend's suicide at a Sydney law firm and why in his experience corporations have better cultures than law firms.  It was a fun and joyful chat, complete with impromptu brainstorming session about what to do when you're in acute distress at work, though of course the trigger warning goes (almost) without saying.

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categories / Guested, Ex-lawyer
tags / flexible working, issues: mental health, mental health tools, advice: experiment, area of practice: inhouse counsel, extra curriculars: comedy, advice: know yourself, issues: suicide

Episode 6: Robin talks second careers, mental health and the importance of morning tea - The New Lawyer Podcast

November 13, 2016  /  Katie Cowan

Well.  This was a rich and important episode.  I spoke with Robin, a now senior solicitor but former mental health practitioner about his career and the issue of mental health in the New Zealand legal profession (you can see why we ran long).  

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categories / Intermediate lawyer
tags / issues: imposter syndrome, advice: get a psychologist, issues: cultural differences, issues: mental health, issues: stigma, mature new lawyers, advice: talk to your employer, area of practice: litigation, issues: transfer to New Zealand, advice: receiving instructions, full service firm, top down change, advice: talk to your friends, issues: suicide, solicitor, second career lawyer, mental health tools

Episode 1: Solicitors talk confidence, transition from law school to practice, and working in the provinces

October 03, 2016  /  Katie Cowan

My lovely first guest is Nicole, an S2 in a mid-size provincial firm who loves her work.  

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categories / Guested
tags / medium size firm, area of practice: commercial, area of practice: property, solicitor, location: provinces, types of work: drafting, types of work: legal advice, issues: supervisor management, issues: transition from law school to practice, issues: anxiety, issues: lack of confidence, issues: no buddies, collegiality in the profession, the virtue of: the provinces, the virtue of: affirmation, advice: confidence, advice: when you don't know, scripts, issues: practice as a woman, the virtue of: senior support of juniors, advice: talk to your friends, the friends panel, issues: feeling alone, EAP, mental health tools

Email your questions to katie@thenewlawyer.co.nz 

 

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