Janel Chin, owner of Peaks and Valleys Legal Services, reflects on the undue pressures placed on her clients, particularly women, who end up with the brunt of stressors related to inadequate or no estate planning on the part of their family members. She offers some good advice for what other estate planning attorneys can do [...]
The best risk management advice I will ever have to offer is simply this: Never minimize the importance taking care of yourself. I know it sounds simple, yet so many seem to struggle with it over the long-term. I really do believe that taking this advice to heart can not only make a world of [...]
On this episode of ALPS In Brief, at the beginning of Lawyer Wellbeing Week and Mental Health Awareness month, Mark sits down with Liesel Brink, head of HR at ALPS to ask her a loaded question: Why would an employer want to invest time or money in prioritizing employee wellness? Transcript: MARK BASSINGTHWAIGHTE: Hello. Welcome to ALPS In Brief, the [...]
WFH – Work From Home. Are you doing it? Do you love it or hate it? I’m doing it right now. Here are 3 suggestions for staying on track during this strange time. Make sure you and your assistant keep updated on the temporary procedures of the different jurisdictions in which you practice. It may [...]
I know, only a dweeb like me would own — and actually refer to — an Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Blame it on the bossa nova. Or the coronavirus. Honestly, I'm feeling a bit guilty these days, but that's another thing. To the real question: What's up with the etymology of the word, "disease" and [...]
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We talk a lot about risk management here at ALPS, but what we're really talking about is prevention — systems and practices that your firm can put into place to help catch human error before the mistake causes harm to a client’s case. We all [...]
It's not nearly as woo woo as it may sound. The Japanese even have a term for it: Shinrin-yoku (loosely translated as, taking in the forest through our senses). Which, in turn, leads us to our sixth sense-- a state of mind called, well-being. Time magazine published an article about it, and Dr. Qing Li published [...]
ALPS Risk Manager Mark Bassingthwaighte shares two real-world stories of attorneys struggling with behaviors that often lead to malpractice claims. As a legal community, it is our duty to lift each other up and to provide hope and support to one another. It is time for us to concede that addiction, depression, and burnout are [...]
This is the third in a series of three blog posts on Law Firms and Data Storytelling. Last time banging this particular drum. And, yes, I'll say it one more time: People look at statistics (data), but they feel, and respond to, stories — especially stories about people! Part three of this series expands upon the question asked in [...]
This is the second in a series of three blog posts on Law Firms and Data Storytelling. Restating the central premise of this, the prior, and the next post: People look at statistics (data), but they feel, and respond to, stories. Put another way, people tend to make decisions based upon emotion, not logic. So, on to the question raised [...]
