March 2007

The Search for Balance

by Ellen Conedera Dial, WSBA President

In the office of WSBA Executive Director Jan Michels, you will find a handsome brass balance scale, perhaps 18 inches tall. From each arm, a scale-pan is suspended by three brass chains. Each scale-pan is large enough to hold a legal brief. This scale, however, is empty, ready for the next time it is needed to demonstrate the laws of physics. Most visitors to Jan Michels’ office would recognize the balance scale instantly as a symbol, not of the science of the natural world, but of the promise of our legal system that all persons coming before the bench will be treated equally; that their cases will be given an impartial weighing of law and fact, of legal argument and policy; and that this system of justice is a worthy one. Indeed, our job as advocates is to assure that the proper balance is achieved in the legal matters that we handle.

There is another kind of balance, though, that is more elusive. Often when lawyers speak of “balance” today, the subject is not the ideal of justice that is embodied in our constitution and system of laws. Frequently, discussions of “balance” revolve around the very concrete need of individuals to find personal growth and satisfaction in their pursuits, and particularly in their lives as busy lawyers. In this context, I have heard the word used in many ways. I have heard it described as a reason that employers should offer flexibility in work schedules. I have heard it used to explain why some lawyers choose to come to the Northwest to enjoy the benefits of its splendid natural environment instead of working in another part of the country. I have heard it used to explain why some lawyers work out at a gym several times a week, why some choose to work part-time, and why others choose to devote a significant part of their time to community service. These serious ideas about what balance means are part of a very important discussion about our profession, its challenges, and its future. I have heard discussions of the lack of balance as a major failing of our profession. To my great alarm, I have heard the word defined (wrongly) as a code word for not wanting to work hard.

Reports from bar associations across the country are that lawyers entering the profession voice a clear expectation of balance in their professional lives. Yet many lawyers express cynicism over whether balance can ever be achieved in our profession. I have begun to dip into the vast pool of literature about balance in the lives of lawyers. I am stunned by the almost universal recognition by professionals who work in this area that the high levels of stress that lawyers contend with every day are causing great harm to lawyers, to the profession (as a result of decreased productivity and dissatisfaction), and to clients (as a result of impairment of lawyers’ judgment and ability to deal effectively with complex and challenging problems). Rates of dissatisfaction among lawyers are alarmingly high, as are the rates of depression among lawyers (as I wrote in my December 2006 Bar News column). The issue of balance is not limited to any demographic profile, nor is it a purely personal issue. It is an issue of how we, as lawyers, are to be successful in the demanding role of protecting clients’ interests.

It is difficult to articulate what balance means in life and career, because the topic is, by its nature, complicated. The literature about balance in lawyers’ lives can be bewildering. It ranges from studies of the stress factors inherent in a lawyer’s job and common non-productive responses to that stress, to advice on a host of activities that can reduce negative stress and encourage development of a calm and focused approach to problems. One can find advice on everything from meditation to nutrition and play/laughter to exercise. A common theme is that time demands and other sources of stress can lead lawyers to become extremely dissatisfied with their jobs and their careers. There is also a very hopeful theme, however, that there are known approaches to changing the ways that lawyers respond to the stress in their lives and achieving a more positive outlook.

One of the most useful discussions I have found is an article by Carl Horn1 entitled “Balanced Lives,” and presented in the Winter 1997 volume of The North Carolina State Bar Journal. After Judge Horn reports the results of studies showing high levels of dissatisfaction and “burnout” among lawyers and the causes identified in those studies, his article suggests nine strategies2 for working towards a solution. The very first of those strategies is “Resolve to lead a balanced life,” meaning that the decision to have balance in one’s life is, in Judge Horn’s view, a personal choice. Among the other eight strategies is a discussion of the role of employers and law schools — the only strategy Judge Horn mentions that is not directed at the individual choice of the lawyer. He reminds us that employers should have reasonable expectations of lawyers’ performance and value the health and well-being of their employees. Law schools, he argues, need to do better at preparing law students for the challenges of a legal career. What Judge Horn makes clear, however, is that finding greater satisfaction and balance in a legal career is not a matter of altering external circumstances, but rather of changing the way we look at those circumstances and how we decide to respond to them. What that means in concrete terms is unique to each individual. Judge Horn’s article lists nine different approaches, but there are many, many articles about how lawyers have made positive changes in their lives and improved their own levels of satisfaction with their jobs and their lives.3

I am reminded of a conversation about balance that I had with a group of experienced women lawyers, many of them raising young children. One described the frustrations of a demanding law practice that appeared to preclude recreational activities that she found enjoyable and relaxing. Another, who practiced law in the same firm and whose law practice was equally demanding and successful, described how she made it a point to set aside time for those activities and to integrate that part of her life into a busy practice. The two described similar external circumstances, but had different approaches to addressing them.

In an interview with the Puget Sound Business Journal,4 which named her 2006 Executive of the Year, Sally Jewell, CEO of Recreational Equipment, Inc., described a time in her extraordinary career when she struggled to balance the demands of work and family. At an event celebrating a recent promotion to executive vice president of Security Pacific Bank, she recalled having told a good friend, “I don’t do anything well. I’m not a good wife. I’m not a good mother. I’m not a good banker.” How many of us have felt that way in our own lives as busy professionals? Ms. Jewell responded by making changes in her daily schedule that allowed her greater flexibility to achieve her goals. Throughout her career, the article tells us, Ms. Jewell has pursued a personal goal of devoting one-third of her time to work, one-third to her family, and one-third to serving her community. There is nothing static or formulaic about this goal — it calls for flexibility and adaptability. We have a lot to learn from what Sally Jewell has called her “Rule of Thirds.”

In my own life-long search for balance, I have come to the following conclusions. First, balance is a matter of personal choice about how one decides to look at the world and lead one’s life. Second, having balance in one’s life is consistent in every way with having a satisfying and successful legal career. Third, balance is not a state to be achieved, but rather a continuing series of responses to external circumstances. Fourth, balance is not an issue that belongs to any one group — it is an issue for all of us. Finally, although the skills that we value as lawyers can sometimes get in the way, the problem-solving skills that lawyers develop as a natural part of our jobs can be great assets in the search for balance.

Back to the balance scales in Jan Michels’ office. I’m not sure I’ll ever think of them in quite the same way again. They have become a symbol for me of constant movement and change. Perhaps that is not a bad description of our justice system, either. 

Ellen Conedera Dial can be reached at 206-359-8025 or ecdial@gmail.com. If you would like to write a letter to the editor on this topic, please e-mail it to letterstotheeditor@wsba.org or mail it to WSBA Bar News, Attn: Letters to the Editor, 1325 Fourth Ave., Ste. 600, Seattle, WA 98101-2539.

NOTES
 1. Carl Horn is chief U.S. magistrate judge for the Western District of North Carolina.
 2. The nine strategies cited by Judge Horn are as follows:  (1) “Resolve to lead a balanced life”; (2) “Implement healthy lifestyle practices”; (3) “Strengthen relationships with your spouse, family, and friends”; (4) “Live under your means”; (5) “Incorporate the Golden Rule into professional life”; (6) “Give back”; (7) “Understand that law firms, courts, and schools play a role”; (8) “Consider a sabbatical”; and (9) “Keep perspective.”
 3. Contact the WSBA Lawyers Services Department for a list of useful articles.
 4. December 22-28, 2006, edition.