The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

MARCH 1992

marital difficulties) impaired his performance. Among the performance measures, billable hours and the ability to withstand pressure were most affected (79%), with quality of work coming in third (75%). Within the firm, teamwork and morale suffered the most. Dr. Carni stated that both research and practical experience show that nervousness, self-doubt, self- condemnation and negative judgment about one's situation lead to lapses in attention and concentration and inhibit the flow of performance falters and, if mental stress is prolonged, the lawyer may suffer symptoms such as headaches and backaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression and interpersonal conflict. In contrast, top performance is found among lawyers who take a non-judgmental attitude towards themselves and the challenges they face. Moreover, lawyers who are able to adopt a win-or-lose approach in their law practice experience greater clarity of mind and are able to deal with challenges in realistic and appropriate ways. Are there other remedies? There are no easy solutions. Lawbrief may revisit this matter in a subsequent Gazette. Mr. Frank Lanigan, Solicitor, Carlow conducted a seminar entitled Setting Up an Accounts Department in a Small Practice late last year for the Institute of Legal Accountants of Ireland. Extracts from Mr. Lanigan's paper have been published in Legal Abacus, January, 1992. Mr. Lanigan's paper will be of considerable interest to members of the profession. In his paper, Mr. Lanigan deals with the issue of the establishment of an accounts department in a small mental processes necessary to generate viable and optimal solutions. The result is that Setting up an Accounts Department in a Small Practice

Pictured at the first meeting of the Barristers Professional Conduct Tribunal were (Back Row - L to R) Peter Somers BL, Peter Kelly SC, Kevin Feeney SC, and Harvey Kenny BL. (Front Row - L to R) Gerard Dempsey (FIE) and Diarmuid O'Donovan SC (Chairman). (Absent from photograph: Kevin Duffy (ICTU).

Dr. Ellen Carni, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Manhattan, specialising in stress management and counselling for lawyers, has written a note on the matter in the Newsletter of the General Practice section of the New York Bar Association Fall/Winter 1991. She referred to several surveys on the issue. According to a 1990 survey conducted by the American Bar Association, lawyers of all types and levels of practice are experiencing fatigue, marital unhappiness and are drinking alcohol in excess. Seventy- The rate of marital dissatisfaction rose from 11 to 17 percent between 1984 and 1990, which is probably an underestimation commonly found in self-reports. In 1988, the Washington State Bar Association surveyed job- related impairments among lawyers, reporting an 18 percent rate of alcohol dependency. In a 1989 survey of 34 managing partners in Denver based firms, the overwhelming majority of respondents reported having worked with a partner whose personal problems (usually alcoholism or one percent of respondents felt "worn out" at the end of the workday, up from 61 percent found in a similar study conducted in 1984.

Information about the new complaints procedures is available from the Tribunal's Secretary, John Dowling, at the Bar Council, Four Courts (Phone: (01) 735689). It is hoped that further details in relation to the new Tribunal will be published in next month's Gazette.

Stress and Pressure in the Law Office

For the majority of lawyers, pressure is a fact of life. The small victories i.e. completing paper work, meeting deadlines, answering 'phone calls, meeting quotas for billable hours are routine events rarely heroic and certainly without merit or national acclaim. The weight of responsibility for clients' money, property, family and even life and death add to the strain. There is usually no place for "team spirit" or camaraderie to dispel the setbacks and celebrate the glories, and the long days " in the field" leave little time for personal and family life. And in these economic times, there is an additional stress: the "players" may be laid o ff from their " t eams" altogether. So how do lawyers withstand the pressure?

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