CBA Record May-June 2025

MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH.

choose a time every week to “get away” from lawyering. I choose Sunday mornings, which I reserve for reflection, walking dogs, and organizing myself for the upcoming week. Technology detoxes are key.

This means plan early, and plan often. There will always be fire drills, but effectively managing time ensures you aren’t creating one due to poor planning. Get comfortable with the ebb and flow of your area of expertise and understand the lifecycle of your work. For example, I keep two lists, a

Make exercise convenient. Focus ing on your physical health will enhance your mental health. The best exercise routine is

short one and a long one. The short list memorializes action items that either must get done on the same day or take less than 15 minutes to execute. The long list

the “one you stick to,” so do what works for you, and find ways to stick to your routine. Person ally, I find the best hours for exercise exist when emails are few, so before 8:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. are my top choices. Reflect upon your

contains large-scale proj ects that require many hours of focused work. Find your best orga

nizational tool and revise it continuously. Only you can be the best advocate for your own time and only you can be the best steward of your own time.

accomplishments. The best advice I received early in my career was to make an email folder titled “Achieve ments” with a sub-folder for the

Ingredients for Success Grit, resilience, intelligence, and hard work: these are all simple ingredients that make a strong lawyer. For those of us new to the profession, preserving our well-being, lowering our stress, and effectively managing our time will facilitate and cultivate those ingredients. With a mix of luck, effort, and grace, all lawyers can continue in the marathon of practicing law. If the goal is to impart some balance in your life, my suggestion is to be shameless in asking for help, and when the opportunity arises, be generous when someone asks for it.

current year. Within that folder, you can catalog whatever you deem as an achievement (e.g., first oral argument, an article you prepared, or praise from a colleague or client, etc.). This folder serves a dual purpose: (1) it reflects your accomplishments, and (2) it demonstrates your skillset growth. If these tips don’t work, there can also be benefits to engag ing in professional therapy. Most law firms and health plans have excellent programs for lawyers seeking to obtain mental health services. Don’t hesitate to contact your mental health pro vider. Professionals are poised to help manage stress, and there are immense benefits in talking through problems with mental health providers. Effective Time Management Tips Whether you deal with the billable hour or not, effectively man aging your time allows you to define your universe of tasks. Through trial and error, you will learn how long a task takes, and with some luck, you’ll eventually get better at lawyering. Until then, prepare accordingly.

George J. Schaller is an Associate Attorney in the Class Action Defense Group at Duane Morris LLP in Chicago, where he defends companies in employment law matters, including class and collective actions, single-plaintiff lawsuits, and administrative charges.

GLOBAL FOCUS IN FAMILY OFFICE June 17, 2025 | 12:00 p.m. | In-person Only at the CBA Building | Reception follows CLE 2.75 IL MCLE Credit | See fees and register at Learn.ChicagoBar.org The programming focuses on the complex international tax considerations facing ultra-high net worth individuals, including residency and domicile planning, and global reporting obligations.

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