“Kill it in the practice of law, without it killing you”
This is the proposition that each episode of the Iron Advocate, a podcast created by lawyers Robert Levant and Jeff Riebel, strives to fulfill.
Raw. Real. Riveting.
Honestly, I had something else planned for this week’s Thrive Bite, but I couldn’t wait to introduce you to the voices of a couple of lawyers who are contributing significantly to positive change in the legal profession.
Bob and Jeff address areas of our professional experience, as it’s been taught and practiced for two centuries, that have been left out of our training.
Vulnerability. Self-awareness. Grit. Tenacity. Fear. Mistakes(!) Perfectionism. Alienation. Anxiety. Imposter Syndrome. The responsibilities and burdens of practice. And more.
I have a finicky attention span.
I don’t believe I’ve listened to more than two episodes of any podcast from business to humor to law to science (well, maybe science; I’m still a bit of a science nerd)—until now.
Even for those who love it, the practice of law is intense and demanding, too often tilting in the direction of the extreme.
We’ve normalized, and at times reward, overwork, sleep deprivation, aberrant behavior, 24/7 client access, and success myths.
We’ve abdicated our focus to technology, supplanted meaning with achievement, blurred boundaries, and regularly fail to manage expectations, our own and those of our clients.
We’re not supposed to talk about our feelings or our fears, lest we be perceived as weak, so instead, we’ve sacrificed our joy, purpose and sometimes our health.
We’re losing incredibly talented people from a profession that sorely needs them.
Thankfully, lawyers are talking about the very real challenges of being a practicing lawyer, and the conversation is shifting.
Bob and Jeff rank among my favorite agents of change in our profession—two extraordinary, yet at the same time, characteristic lawyers.
Each episode of Iron Advocate invites us “to learn to get out of our own way, to be ruthlessly honest about the difficult emotions and circumstances we face,” and to “explore how lawyers can kill it in the practice of law without it killing us.”
I’ve abandoned many podcasts, yet I keep coming back to this one, and I’m willing to bet, you will, too.
Be well. Stay safe. Enjoy the holidays. And listen up!
To thriving in practice and beyond,
Judith