Mindfulness Can Make Litigation Suck a Little Bit Less: New Podcast Interview

“Mindfulness does not make life easy. It can make it suck it a little bit less.”

This is a brilliant quote from me on the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Podcast with Travis Richins and Jacob Tingen.

They asked me to explain some ways that mindfulness has made my law practice a little bit more calm and kind. I was happy to share some examples with them. I have many such stories that I have compiled over the years.

Meditation has helped me decompress after hard days. It has helped me stay steady when life or a case freaks me out. And it has helped me avoid reactivity in response to the behavior or stress of my fellow lawyers.

But I had to admit that the practice didn’t make me perfect and it didn’t make law practice suddenly become easy. That’s because mindfulness practices aren’t magic. Instead, they are deeply practical.

For this reason, this interview with Jacob and Travis was one of my favorites because we talked about the practical reasons why mindfulness practices can benefit a law practice. This includes managing the day to day stresses of the job, but also facing the long-standing doubts and fears that can keep you from trying things that scare you (like networking for me) or pursuing things you love (in my case writing).

If you are interested in learning what mindfulness may mean for you or your law practice, check out this interview. You can watch it here.

I mentioned a few meditations in the podcast to help lawyers who have to deliver bad news to clients or avoid email wars with opposing counsel. If you want to check those out here they are:

Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer, for a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.

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Published by Claire E. Parsons

Claire E. Parsons is Of Counsel at Bricker Graydon LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has practiced for the last fifteen years in the areas of litigation, employment, local government law. Claire is an active leader in her community and in the legal profession. She has led innovative charitable programs in her community, statewide legal organizations, committees relating to the promotion of women professionals. Claire is also a frequent writer and speaker for these and other organizations. She has published and spoken about numerous topics, ranging from complex legal issues, to law practice, networking and marketing, as well as mindfulness and wellness for lawyers and other professionals. She writes regularly on LinkedIn and even co-authored a book this year with 19 other women lawyers about how they used the platform to network and pursue career goals during the pandemic. In 2013, Claire began a mindfulness practice early in her law career and as she was learning to be a new mom to her eldest daughter, Sophie. When Claire began the practice, she saw it gradually transform her life for the better by helping her to reduce overthinking, manage stress, and infuse compassion practices into her daily life. Over the next few years, she continued to study mindfulness practices and attend retreats. In 2018, Claire began speaking and writing on these topics and she quickly became regarded as a resource for professionals as someone who can explain meditation practices in an approachable and practical way. She has completed more than 1000 hours of training to teach mindfulness and compassion, including meditation and a variety of other mind-body practices, including yoga, pranayama, and somatic healing. Claire has also authored two books, How to Be a Badass Lawyer and Mommy Needs a Minute. You can learn more and connect with her through the blog or on LinkedIn.

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  1. Pingback: How Mindfulness Can Help Lawyers Make Social Change - brilliantlegalmind.com

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