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Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category

162546268-495x328I must be, because I was just interviewed by the celebrated Leslie A. Gordon of none other than the ABA Journal for her article, entitled “How Lawyers can avoid Burnout and Debilitating Anxiety”.

And Leslie also interviewed my old friend, Jeena Cho – and I know she’s famous!

And there’s this great portrait of me taken by the photographer, Len Irish! 0715FANXIOUS-MEYERHOFERL

The article does a great job of highlighting the issues of anxiety and burnout among lawyers.

I modestly confess that I particularly liked this quote, which somehow fell trippingly from the tongue of little-ol’ Moi:

It’s important to note that no strategy should be touted as a cure-all. “The implication can become that you’re struggling with anxiety or depression because you’re not doing your yoga or not meditating or not eating right or somehow choosing to go without sleep,” Meyerhofer says, “that it’s your fault for not having mastered some ‘effective strategy’ that would make all these issues disappear.” The fact remains that law can be brutal, and most young associates are not equipped for what they find when they enter the profession, he says. “You’re not tossing and turning in bed, roiled by anxiety, because you’re choosing to eat badly or to skip your yoga class. It has a lot more to do with being thrown into the deep end in an extremely competitive, exploitive business driven not by compassion or collegiality or the desire to mentor, but by profit and money and competition for prestige.”

Thank you, ABA Journal, and Leslie, and everyone who helped produce this piece.  I hope the message gets out that being a lawyers doesn’t have to be synonymous with being stressed out and miserable.

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Please check out The People’s Therapist’s legendary best-seller about the sad state of the legal profession: Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy: Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

My latest book is a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space. I guarantee pure reading pleasure: Bad Therapist: A Romance

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3-e1423885761774I had the pleasure of confabbing away the afternoon a few days ago with the Jeena Cho, author (along with her co-author, Karen Gifford) of the upcoming book, The Anxious Lawyer, to be published in mid-2015 by the ABA.  Jeena recorded our conversation for her on-going podcast series, known as “The Resilient Lawyer.”

As you can probably tell from the resulting podcast (you can also listen to it and download it on iTunes), Jeena (although a lawyer) is very very nice, exceedingly resilient and not in the least bit anxious.  She’s also an expert on stuff like mindfulness and meditation, especially as it might play a part in rendering other lawyers’ lives a tad calmer and happier.

We covered a lot of ground – Jeena is easy to talk to, a great listener and asker of insightful questions.  You’ll have to overlook the gentle sounds of my miniature dachshund, Simon, snoring in the background, but I’m certain it’s worth the sacrifice.  Simon certainly wasn’t complaining.  IMG_5113

Jeena and Karen offer mindfulness meditation training for law firms, which seems like a good idea to me.  If any of you out there happen to manage a law firm and are in the market for calming bliss – well, I can’t think of anyone better with whom to attain it.

Thank you, Jeena, for the opportunity to meet you, and discuss the  important issues of our times…all accompanied by the soothing, slumberous susurrus of my much-loved senior canine colleague.

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My new book is a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space. I guarantee pure reading pleasure: Bad Therapist: A Romance

Please also check out The People’s Therapist’s legendary best-seller about the sad state of the legal profession: Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy: Bad Therapist: A Romance

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I was recently inCoyoteomaticterviewed by the lovely and talented Angela Kopolovich, for her blog.  We talked about the relationship between self-esteem, lawyers and happiness.  It turns out feeling good about yourself can go a long way towards making you feel happier.  Who knew?

Here is a link to the interview.  Hope you like it.

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My new book is a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space. I guarantee pure reading pleasure: Bad Therapist: A Romance.

Please also check out The People’s Therapist’s legendary best-seller about the sad state of the legal profession: Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy: Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

(In addition to Amazon.com, my books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.)

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conferenceLike most of you, I whiled away last Friday in New York City at the ultra-posh Yale Club, in attendance at an Above The Law-sponsored conference bearing the charming sobriquet:  “Attorney@blog”.

If you failed to make an appearance, rest assured all was precisely as one would expect – celebrities galore, lavish swag, caviar in heaps, champagne flowing in torrents – all capped by innumerable late-night parties in painfully-hip underground destinations, guarded with zeal by the voluptuous ATL crew: Elie “The Beast” Mystal, Staci “Bootylicious” Zaretsky and the boss-man, David “Dr. Lovin'” Lat.

It was, in a word, legendary.  I was in my element.

So.  Here’s a music video of what we now laughing refer to as “the event,” although it was, in truth, more along the lines of a downtown “happening”  à la Andy Warhol:

Thank you, wireLawyer, for recording history in the making. I’m pleased to report the camera caught my good side.

A special shout-out to my co-panelists, the simply-too-divine Vivia Chen and ever-hypnotic Jesse Kornberg.

See you next year.

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My new book is a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space.  I guarantee pure reading pleasure:  Bad Therapist: A Romance

Please also check out The People’s Therapist’s legendary best-seller about the sad state of the legal profession:  Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy:  Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

(In addition to Amazon.com, my books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.)

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Business_Insider (1)I was contacted last year by the very lovely Liz Brown to do an interview for her book, “Life After Law: Finding Work You Love with the JD You Have.”

Lo and behold – Liz’s book is out, and you can buy a copy.lizbrown_headshot

You can also read her interview with me, courtesy of Business Insider.  It is rather touchingly titled “This Miserable Law Grad Ditched Everything to be a Therapist for Unhappy Lawyers.”  You can’t pay for publicity like that, and it’s an interesting piece – all about how I started out a corporate lawyer and wound up…here.

Thanks, Liz – and good luck with your new book!
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Here’s my new book – a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space – Bad Therapist: A Romance.  I guarantee pure reading pleasure…

Please also check out The People’s Therapist’s legendary best-seller about the sad state of the legal profession, Way-Worse-Than-Being-Dentist

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy:  Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

(In addition to Amazon.com, my books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.)

Read Full Post »

I had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview last week with Spencer Mazyck, of Bloomberg Law, at their studio in Midtown.  I’m happy to report Spencer is the nicest guy in the world and this was the most fun I’ve ever had.

The discussion was far-ranging.  I’m used to talking about the state of the legal profession, but Spencer asked me about my life, my loves – and just about everything else.

Here’s the interview:

Please check out The People’s Therapist’s legendary best-seller about the sad state of the legal profession: Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy: Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

My new book is a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space. I guarantee pure reading pleasure: Bad Therapist: A Romance

(In addition to Amazon.com, my books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.)

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talking-headsThe People’s Therapist has joined the bloviating classes…I’ve now appeared as a talking head on a real live (sort of) television talk show – HuffPost Live.

Anyway – here’s the link.

The segment seemed to go well, although I had the unnerving if not atypical sensation of being the hot-headed radical spouting fire at a garden party.  Hélas, c’est mon destin.  At least my hair looked good.  At least, I think it did.

This time around, blessedly, the other panelists weren’t biglaw partners, law professors and authors of books with titles like “You can be super-duper happy as a lawyer if you just smile a lot!”  Been there, done that.

For a rather gloomier view of the current nightmare that is biglaw, click here.

It must be admitted, it is fun to be on tv and get to talk.

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My new book is a comic novel about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a blue alien from outer space. It’s called Bad Therapist: A Romance. I guarantee pure reading pleasure…

If you enjoy these columns, please check out The People’s Therapist’s book about the sad state of the legal profession, Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

My first book is an unusual (and useful) introduction to the concepts underlying psychotherapy: Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

(My books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.)

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First – yes, this blog, and my columns on AboveTheLaw.com, are coming back to life – or will be shortly. I’m just waiting for the new book to come out (and no, the new book is not what you’re expecting.)

More immediately, for all my Hong Kong readers, here’s a fun event coming up on the evening of November 20th, 2012, featuring wine and canapes:

I look forward to the opportunity to meet more of my readers and share a few thoughts about the madness of biglaw. Hope you can make it.

Will

PS: If you’re in NYC On October 26th, 2012 and would like to hear me opine upon the divine absurdities attendant to biglaw, please come to the 2012 Fall Symposium of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC), where I’ll be a featured speaker – information is available here.

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If you’re interested in the scientific and philosophical underpinnings of psychotherapy, you might enjoy my first book, Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy

My second book takes a humorous look at the current state of the legal profession, Way Worse Than Being a Dentist: The Lawyer’s Quest for Meaning

(Both books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.) 

For information on my private practice, click here.

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I had the pleasure to sit down a few weeks ago for a nice long talk with the brilliant and thoughtful Dan Lukasik, creator of the brilliant and thoughtful blog Lawyerswithdepression.com.

For some background on Dan and his work, click here.

As always, it was great to talk with Dan – he takes his time, asks good questions and knows what he’s talking about.  We explored issues around depression, talked a bit about my books, and related everything to law, lawyers and the environment of a law firm.

You can read the full interview here.

My thanks to Dan, for arranging and conducting this nice long talk about topics that fascinate and concern us both.

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If you’re interested in learning more about the scientific and philosophical underpinnings of psychotherapy, you might enjoy my first book, “Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy”

My second book takes a humorous look at the current state of the legal profession, “Way Worse Than Being A Dentist”

(Both books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.) 

For information on my private practice, click here.

Read Full Post »

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