Burnout Is Your Toughest Competitor (Time Off As A Business Strategy)

Earlier this year, Bloomberg Law released its findings of its survey titled “Attorney Workload and Hours Survey”.  1,000 legal professionals participated and the results are provocative:

• 97% of respondents worked while out of the office

• 73% worked on at least half of their days off.

• On average attorneys reported feeling burned out 42%-51% of the time.

These feelings of being overwhelmed and burned out appear at every level of the legal field.  It is no surprise then, that attorneys are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-attorneys according to the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being (2017).

Deadlines, the need to be constantly available, and omnipresent pressure to make it rain are only a few of the reasons that lawyers are more stressed than ever.  If everyone is under the same threat of burnout, then the people who are able to manage it effectively gain a competitive advantage over their peers.

Although there is no solution that works for everyone, there are some core principles that work across all disciplines that can help you stay sane and outpace your competitors. 

3 Tactics You Can Deploy Today 

1. Automate Administrative Tasks - You only have a set amount of mental bandwidth to deal with complex tasks.  Don’t burn this important creative capital on easily automated tasks.  Do the work up-front to create templates and use SaaS tools for repetitive tasks.  The more efficient you become, the more time you can spend on making sure the big challenges in your practice don’t become fires that need to be put out.

2. Non-Negotiable Boundaries - Just like there is always a reason not to go to the gym, there is always a reason to do work during your off time.  You must be able to carve out time for your personal life so you can detach from work.  This is easier said than done but turning off email notifications and training your clients when you are and aren’t available are simple ways to protect your time.  You can’t be an effective lawyer if you don’t have control of both your productive and leisure time.  Be ruthless about your boundaries.

3. Non-Law Group Or Activity - The one thing that lawyers seem to be able to do is to successfully navigate their calendar.  What I mean by this is that court hearings, depositions, and client intakes are rarely rescheduled by attorneys.  If it’s on the calendar, it gets done.  It is important to remember that activities don’t always have to be legal related.  Find a group or activity that requires a pre-planned time and place to participate in it.  Over time, this activity will just become part of your routine and will force you to decompress from your work.

A HeyCounsel Member Showing How It’s Done

Ryan Juliano is the founder of Darwin Legal, a subscription-based legal practice serving early-stage technology startups.  He is also a Long Island native and a lifelong athlete (undersized football, rugby, now pickleball) and musician (classical bass, guitar, ukulele).

As you can see, he has a wide range of interests outside the law but we are particularly interested in his recent foray into the acting world.  Check out his recent post: “My aspiring actress daughter roped me into joining . . .”

By committing to a community theatre production Ryan took control of his own schedule and put himself (and his family) first.  He has a great story and was surely re-energized when tackling the aspects of his practice. 

Ok, now let’s take a look at some upcoming events and what’s happening in the community.

📆 Upcoming Events

CHECK THEM ALL OUT HERE

1. Health Insurance For Solos (12/9/25) - Registration Link - Let’s make a complicated topic as simple as we can!

2. The Roll-Up Strategy (Member hosted event) (12/10/25) - Registration Link - Member Chris Schuering offers their expertise and a deep dive into the legal structure utilized in the roll-up strategy.

3. Taxes and Books - (12/12/25) - Registration Link - Join us for Q&A with Agate CPA on everyone’s favorite topic.

🌟 /Threads

1. This week members discussed their experiences with Gemini AI for summarizing complex data and info.

2. Members also had some fun with amusing ways to describe their law practice on dating apps with examples like “I practice martial law” and our favorite, “Ninja Law”.

3. On a more serious note, members discussed their experiences with short-term and long-term disability insurance. A sobering but important topic.

4. Finally, a quick discussion on payment processors for paying foreign associates in their currency.

🚀 New client opportunities this week

Here are a few of our favorite opportunities that have popped up this week. Want the full list? Head to our #03-opportunities channel!

1. Need local RE counsel in Colorado for a potential mortgage security.

2. Consumer goods company looking for counsel with e-commerce experience.

3. Seeking counsel to assist with a rebadging transaction of 17 employees.

4. Require a legal opinion for a lease in the UK from a Delaware attorney.

Take some time this weekend to recharge and think about how you can strengthen your boundaries to avoid burnout so you can always be in the game.

Till next time,

Brian

HeyCounsel Weekly Pulse