CBA Record May-June 2026

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION Career-Ender or Cognitive Distortion? Productive Ways to Handle Mistakes By J. Kopczyk

H elping Attorneys Build Mental and Emotional Fitness” was the topic of a recent CLE presentation featuring Mike Kaplan, a former attorney and current career coach with Vigorous Life Integrative Wellness Coaching. Using realis tic hypothetical examples, Kaplan outlined techniques to miti gate the common mental pressures that may compound attorney burnout and shorten a legal career. A young attorney might feel that any mistake they make is a career-ender. The session recalled stories of attorneys fired during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic or the great financial crisis under the thinnest of pretenses—a fear that may be resur facing in this current uncertain economic and political climate. Such stressors, compounded by the nature of legal work in gen eral, can result in the legal profession being known as “the miser able profession.” Indeed, Kaplan emphasized that the profession suffers from high rates of stress, anxiety, depression; long hours and demands on availability that often blur personal and profes sional boundaries; and feelings of isolation or loneliness due to the demands of meeting billable hours requirements. How does a young attorney preserve peace of mind when facing such pressure and negativity? As Kaplan explained, the legal profession tends to compound the natural negativity bias that is present in humans. Because our survival instinct wires people to focus on threats, or per ceived threats, as much as 80% of our thinking tends to be nega tive. However, with practice, attorneys can build their capacity to respond to life’s challenges with a positive, clear, and focused mindset instead of being derailed by stress, negativity, or self

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doubt. Just as physical fitness builds strength and stamina, mental fitness helps build productive muscles such as resilience, creativity, connection, and adaptability. Common Cognitive Distortions One-way attorneys can preserve peace of mind is to ensure that they are not magnifying mistakes through what Dr. David Burns, in his now-classic book on cognitive behavioral therapy, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, terms “cognitive distor tions.” In a cognitive distortion, an individual reflects on an occurrence in a way that twists its consequences beyond its ratio nal limits, often in a negative way. Attorneys whose reflections contain cognitive distortions may find themselves suffering from anxiety and depression, which may negatively impact productiv ity and resilience. To prevent negative compounding effects of these cognitive distortions, attorneys must first be aware of them. Consider these 10 common cognitive distortions: 1. Black and White Thinking: You reflect on events in absolute, all-or-nothing categories. 2. Over-Generalization: You believe that a single negative event is part of a never-ending pattern of defeat. 3. Mental Filter: You dwell on or magnify the negative aspects of an event. 4. Discounting the Positive: You discount your positive accom plishments or abilities. 5. Jumping to Conclusions: You assume that people are reacting negatively to you when there’s no definite evidence that’s the

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