Issue 1, February 2000

• Is There Life After the Law?

Making The Hours of Your Life Worth More™

Issue # 1
Is There Life After the Law?

Welcome to BEYOND THE BILLABLE HOUR™, a free email newsletter, published by Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D., founder of Lawyers Life Coach™. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues and friends who might be interested.

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"Is There Life After the Law?"

If you're an overworked, over-committed, over-scheduled, successful woman attorney, then you've probably asked yourself this question.

The answer is a resounding "Yes!" But how do you go about creating a satisfying life for yourself?

You might try using the following "rules of law" as you begin to create your own unique solution:

1. Become absolutely clear about what is most important to you -- this is essential for creating a balanced and satisfying life.
2. Remember that no one knows your priorities better than you -- even if you experience doubt or other people challenge you.
3. Even if you're not clear about your priorities, you can learn how to envision your most important goals.
4. Maintaining focus on your goals can guide your decisions as you work to create balance in your life.

For the impossibly busy attorney, these "rules" mean that:

1. Every billable hour presents you with trade-offs.

2. Once you are clear about what's most important to you, you can assess whether what you gain from each billable hour is worth its cost.

3. Examine each hour under the light of your life goals and priorities. You can make decisions about each hour, one hour at a time. All-or-nothing decisions are rarely effective.

Once you have a clear picture of your priorities and values you will be able to assess whether your current dissatisfaction is due to a need to:

-- organize and optimize your non-working hours to create more balance in your life
-- set more effective limits with clients and/or employers
-- find a practice area better suited to your values, interests and preferred lifestyle
-- acknowledge and address the inherent gender bias in "billable hour" measures of competence
-- pursue a career outside the law

If you don't have accurate information about career options outside the legal profession, you may mistakenly believe that you are "stuck."

But even if you're certain you've made the right career choice, you're still left with the challenge of making your career work for you - so you can have a full and satisfying life beyond the billable hour.

Approach your life as you would approach a case - thoroughly research the facts, objectively examine the evidence, weigh the alternatives, take calculated risks.

Many women lawyers are finding that working with a professional and personal coach helps them make better life decisions and find clarity in a shorter period of time.

That's one way you can answer the question, "Is there life outside the law for me?"

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BEYOND THE BILLABLE HOUR™ is published monthly by Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D., founder of LawyersLifeCoach.com. She brings 20 years of experience assisting women attorneys to her work in Lawyers Life Coach™.

LawyersLifeCoach.com is a professional and personal coaching firm specializing in working virtually (by phone with email and fax backup) with women attorneys interested in developing strategies to find greater satisfaction in their careers within the law or in exploring career alternatives for lawyers.

Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D. established Lawyerslifecoach.com to coach busy lawyers who might benefit from the insights gained from 20 years as a psychologist combined with her experience and familiarity with the legal profession.

Ellen holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rochester and is a managing member of Metropolitan Behavioral Health Care, LLC., a multispecialty, multidisciplinary psychotherapy practice in Washington, D.C. and suburban Maryland.

She is a member of the International Coach Federation and a graduate of the MentorCoach Program™.

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NOTE: BEYOND THE BILLABLE HOUR™ is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for a personal consultation with a mental health professional and should not be construed as a form of, or substitute for, counseling, psychotherapy, or other psychological service.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D.
LawyersLifeCoach.com
Phone: (301) 578-8686
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web: http://www.LawyersLifeCoach.com

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© 2000 — 2008 Ellen Ostrow. All rights reserved.

Distribution Rights: The above material is copyrighted but you may retransmit or distribute it to whomever you wish as long as not a single word is changed, added or deleted, including the contact information. However, you may not copy it to a web site.

Reprint permission will be freely granted upon request. Advance written permission must be obtained for any reprinting of this material in modified or altered form.

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