Balancing Work and Life: A Practical Guide for Lawyers

Balancing Work and Life: A Practical Guide for Lawyers provides pragmatic techniques for succeeding in the legal profession without compromising your personal life.

From tips on how to prioritise your daily workload, to coping strategies for dealing with stress, to mechanisms for nurturing your family and friends, Balancing Work and Life offers constructive advice on balancing a happy home life and satisfying legal career. Many of the themes will resonate with those engaged in professional services, such as accountancy and consultancy. The book explores issues such as:

•         Is it possible to balance my home and work spheres?
•         What strategies will help me as a working parent?
•         How can I curb my tendency to procrastinate?
•         Is marketing possible on a time budget?
•         Do gender bias issues impact women in the law?
•         How can I network effectively - and enjoy it?
•         Is financial literacy important?
•         Can I really have it all?

Over 90 personal insights are included from a wide spectrum of lawyers, including the Supreme Court Judge the Honourable Dame Susan Glazebrook, members of the Judiciary, the Chairman of Spark, Mark Verbiest, the General Counsels of Air New Zealand, ASB, Genesis, Spark and Z Energy, a range of in-house lawyers and the CEO of CLANZ, partners and solicitors from all major law firms, and a diverse collection of lawyers and ex-lawyers.

Balancing Work and Life: A Practical Guide for Lawyers is an invaluable resource for practitioners at any stage in their career.

Book Review - Law Society NT

Julia Batchelor-Smith is an experienced practitioner who has written extensively on strategies to achieve work/life balance, effective practice management and gender diversity. She also regularly comments in the media on the full spectrum of issues impacting women in the law and the working parent. Julia commenced her career at Bell Gully before moving in-house to Goldman Sachs. She then spent time in Dubai with Hogan Lovells before returning to New Zealand. Julia is a commercial litigator at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts with a focus on construction and defective building disputes. She is married with two young daughters and lives in Auckland.

Part one: Balancing work and life

Chapter 1         You can have it all
Chapter 2         Support on the home front
Chapter 3         Building your professional support network
Chapter 4         Pursuing your passion (and why it shouldn't be your work)
Chapter 5         Reframing work/life balance

Part two: Effective practice

Chapter 6         Prioritising your daily workload
Chapter 7         Overcoming procrastination
Chapter 8         Marketing on a time budget
Chapter 9         Finding your niche
Chapter 10         Time management tactics

Part three: Progressing you career

Chapter 11         Setting goals
Chapter 12         Connecting through networking
Chapter 13         Embracing mentoring
Chapter 14         Tackling imposter syndrome
Chapter 15         Getting clear on your career

Part four: Parenthood and the law

Chapter 16         Transitioning back to work
Chapter 17         Sourcing childcare
Chapter 18         Part-time work - is it the answer?
Chapter 19         Changing tack
Chapter 20         Fostering a 'family-friend' culture

Part five: Women in the law

Chapter 21         How far have women come?
Chapter 22         Deconstructing the gender imbalance
Chapter 23         Female leaders
Chapter 24         Is law a female-friendly career?
Chapter 25         Overcoming challenges as a female lawyer

Part six: Self-care strategies

Chapter 26         Practising self-care
Chapter 27         Building resilience
Chapter 28         Managing stress
Chapter 29         Financial Literacy
Chapter 30         Nurturing your important relationships