The Mindfulness Blog

Several years ago, my family and I travelled down under and spent time in New Zealand-- specifically, the South Island and the Queenstown area which is where bungee jumping was first attempted, off a bridge that spanned a river gorge. My kids and I signed up, with great anticipation.

When we arrived, something totally unexpected happened-- one of the people who had signed up (and paid a good chunk of money to jump), got out on the small ledge from which one jumps and suddenly decided not to jump. He/she stepped back, untied the bungee cord that had been wrapped around his/her ankles, and walked away without explanation.

At the time, the question that I (and probably everyone else on the bridge) asked was, "why?". Then the next person stepped up, and life resumed its normal course. In retrospect, it wasn't really all that significant. But here I am, recalling the moment and writing about it-- as an analogy for lawyer wellbeing, no less!

We see or hear about something that we immediately know we want to do-- something we know we should do. Something that's "good " to do. We make the necessary arrangements (at great expense and effort) then, at the very last moment, step back and walk away. And the same question lingers-- why?

Leaders in the legal vertical know the lawyer wellbeing is something they should embrace-- something that would be good for the individuals who make up the legal profession. Something that would be, "the right thing to do". And yet, they don't-- they walk away, or kick the proverbial can down the road, to the next man or woman.

I understand the hesitation but, respectfully, it's the responsibility of law firm and other legal institution managers to make decisions and act on their professional intuition-- particularly concerning matters that directly impact the health and welfare of their lawyers and related constituents.

What to do? Start-- just start. I'm tempted to push the bungee analogy by saying jump-- just jump. But I won't do that, because the decision is far too meaningful. More artfully, I (like Senator Chris Murphy who has championed the issue of gun regulation) would advise our leaders to not let perfection become enemy of the good.

The cause of lawyer wellbeing is urgent-- let's get started, in earnest!