The Free Lawyer

Kimberly Rice has a passion for helping women professionals be as successful and fulfilled as they can. Speaker, author, marketing expert, and professional coach, Kimberly explains some of the most important issues facing the female lawyer today and how to overcome them. Some key takeaways: -Competency as a lawyer is just the price of admission; given the surplus of attorneys today, the attorney must also know how to build a book of business and develop a personal brand -The 3 keys to being a successful business owner and lawyer is to build the essential relationships, to enhance our reputation, and to build those connections over time -Women lawyers, although well-represented by percentages in the private practice are very underutilized in the key management roles in firms -How important it is to have a supportive community lifting the female attorney -How to build our prosperity and find fulfillment -How to overcome the conflict between the logical, linear legal mind, and the creative forward thinking entrepreneurial role -The importance of mental health and wellness and how to support it in our career.  This is a can't miss episode!

A recent Washington Post article was entitled “Want to be happy? Then don’t be a lawyer.” Is it possible to be truly happy as an attorney? Are you fulfilled, and do you find enjoyment in your work? If not, how can we change that? In this newsletter, I will briefly discuss the Washington Post Article; review some of the major stresses we face as attorneys, and share thoughts about how we can find joy and fulfillment in our legal practice. You, too can be happy as a lawyer!

Daya Naef, lawyer and executive coach, joins us today to share her expertise about how to enjoy the practice of law despite the pressures we all face. Key takeaways: -Stress and burnout are becoming very common in the legal profession -Consistently good sleep and keeping well hydrated help to fuel our performance -The virtual world has additional pressures, making it harder to set boundaries between our office and home life and limiting genuine connection -It is critical to take breaks during the day to help keep us fresh and alert -Time blocking, planning our schedule, and eliminating multitasking help us to be more productive -We create personal freedom when we have the flexibility to choose how we want to live our life You will love the nuggets in this episode!

Have you, or anyone you know or care about, ever felt hopeless or that you had lost control? That there was some power running your life that was stronger than you? Or that you were controlled by some force that was holding you back? Many of us have struggled with losing power to some negative force, such as addiction or depression. For example, I have suffered from alcoholism. Unfortunately, we also often suffer silently, feeling like we are alone and that our life is hopeless. The legal profession confronts incredible struggles with addiction, substance abuse, depression, and other mental health challenges. But, unfortunately, many who face such obstacles do so alone and secretly. It does not have to be that way. In this episode, I will discuss what our legal profession faces, share my personal story with addiction and recovery, and give five critical principles for us to focus on as we try to free ourselves or someone we care about from this prison. We can all transform our world from a dying caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.

Are you ever afraid to assert yourself, particularly when you feel the other party has more power than you? Ever wonder how to effectively ask for what you truly want? Lucia Kanter St. Amour answers these questions and more today! Effective negotiation can be your everyday superpower in your profession, office, and home. Lucia is an incredible attorney, mediator, law professor, and best-selling author of For the Forces of Good: The Superpower of Everyday Negotiation. You will want to hear Lucia's insights about: -The importance of building genuine rapport -The need to set boundaries in our life -How to manage bullies in the workplace -The stress of hourly billing requirements -The keys of listening and asking questions -Building freedom in resolving our own problems by tapping into our autonomy and speaking up without fear of reprisal Lucia Kanter St. Amour is a VP for UN women USA, practicing attorney, and law professor turned everyday negotiation superhero. She’s the author of "For the Forces of Good: The Superpower of Everyday Negotiation" and is here to help you harness your everyday negotiation superpowers, so you can rock it in your job, get your kids to eat their peas, and be the most powerful person in the room!

"If you don’t design your life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." – Jim Rohn Are you happy with where you are? Are you making the kind of income that you want? Are you finding fulfillment and doing the area of practice you enjoy? Are you working with people you like and respect? Do you find joy in your life? Do you find enough time to be with your family and pursue hobbies that please you? Sometimes we get stuck in the grind and need to reflect on what we want. Now, in the New Year, we have the essential time to reflect and choose what we want our future to be. We have the power to create the future of our dreams. We deserve it. In this episode, I will explain some of the most important considerations to evaluate in determining our future and lay out a ten-step process for you to choose precisely who you want to be and how to create that future.

Do you ever feel that there is so much competition and it is hard to stand out from the crowd as an attorney? Scott Aaron, LinkedIn Coach and business expert for personal branding and business growth, joins The Free Lawyer today. He explains how we can best use LinkedIn to brand ourselves as professionals and grow our practices. Scott shares his expertise on these critical topics- -Why LinkedIn is the best professional social media platform for business growth -The Seven Advantages of LinkedIn -How to best utilize LinkedIn to show your expertise -The three best posts to do each week -How our journey creates our own unique experiences and skills -How to create meaningful content to show your zone of genius -Creating personal freedom by living life with intention and creating space to enjoy the journey Scott is truly a brilliant expert not only on LinkedIn but also on personal branding and business growth. You want to make sure to catch this episode! Internationally acclaimed and award-winning online marketer, 3x best-selling author, top podcaster, and speaker, Scott Aaron, is the go-to specialist when it comes to converting traffic, establishing connections, generating leads, creating sales, and building personal brands, all using LinkedIn.  Fully immersing himself in learning LinkedIn and social media strategies, Scott quickly gained traction as a leader in generating significant results for other entrepreneurs, online business owners, and business coaches. Scott is passionate about helping fellow entrepreneurs succeed while building their network organically and without complicated and costly marketing tactics. His program has helped thousands experience explosive growth following his proven system and strategies. People-focused and result-driven, Scott's strategic approach to teaching others how to create wealth online and organic traffic is the game changer when it comes to competing in a saturated digital world.

True personal freedom can only be created by mindfully living in the present. Last week, we reviewed the problems with living in the past (regret, resentment, shame) or the future (worry, stress, fear). Today in part 2, we present the ten unique gifts of being present: peace, joy, freedom, gratitude, acceptance, success, productivity, better relationships, and happiness. Who would not want all that?? But how do we get there? I give you ten practical steps for you to follow to begin creating the personal freedom you deserve by living in the present. Have a listen and start changing your life today!

Helen Pamely, a lawyer, psychotherapist, speaker, and career coach for lawyers from the UK, explains in this episode of The Free Lawyer how we can enhance our confidence, resilience, performance, and well-being. These are some key takeaways: -How to overcome exhaustion and burnout and achieve a healthy work-life balance -The importance of rewriting your narrative to realize you are enough just as you are -The power of affirmations -Finding balance by creating spaces in your day -Building freedom by living your life intelligently with boundaries Helen started her career at the Magic Circle law firm Linklaters. At just six years qualified, she was promoted to Partner in Dispute Resolution at the London City law firm Rosling King. With a passion for mental health and well-being, and a desire to understand how we can optimize these to reach our potential and perform at our best, a few years into her career, Helen retrained as a Psychotherapist and an Executive Coach. Helen now coaches lawyers to excel, thrive in their careers, and become the best and happiest versions of themselves.                                 

Do you ever find you are distracted, worrying about the future and how things will turn out? Do you worry about what other people might be thinking of you? Do you ever resent what people have done to you in the past? How often do you find yourself thinking about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow? How does that make you feel? So often, we waste our precious energy thinking about what has happened in the past, what has been done to us, or even what we might have done wrong. Sometimes we may obsess about the future, imagining bad results and poor outcomes. One of the biggest challenges in creating personal fulfillment is living in the present and avoiding being stuck in the past or the future. Unfortunately, both of those create obstacles to our attaining personal freedom. This is a two-part episode about creating personal freedom by living in the present. Today, I discuss the problems of living in the past and, even worse, in the future; I will give you tools to escape the past and avoid the future. Next week I will describe ten gifts of being present in the moment and give you tangible tools to achieve that. Stay present and be free!!