Upcoming Events

Dec.
04
Wed
Holiday Party 2024
When: 5:30 PM
Where: Fire & Cork

Contact Us

Rockland County Bar Association
337 N Main Street, Suite 1
New City, NY 10956
E: office@rocklandbar.org
P: (845) 634-2149
F: (845) 634-1055
Hours of Operation
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST
Serving Rockland, Orange and Westchester Counties

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The following resources are provided to you courtesy of the Lawyer to Lawyer Committee.* 

Lawyer Assistance Programs

New York State Bar Association: 1-800-255-0569; lap@nysba.org

New York City Bar Association: 212-302-5787; https://nysba.org/attorney-well-being/

Suicide Prevention

National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – dial 988

Crisis Text Line: Need help? Text START to 741-74 1

Chemical Dependency and Self-Help Sites

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): 212-870-3400; www.aa.org

International Lawyers in A.A. (ILAA): www.ilaa.org

Narcotics Anonymous (NA): 818-773-9999; www.na.org

Nicotine Anonymous (NA): 1-877-TRY-NICA; nicotine-anonymous.org

Mental Health

Depressed Anonymous: depressedanon.com

National Mental Health Association (NMHA) - 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center; Text MHA to 741741 at the Crisis Text Line

Source: Andrew Denney, Bureau Chief of NYLJ and the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

*For more information about the Lawyer to Lawyer Committee, please email   Manuela Gomez at manuela@rocklandbar.org

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How To Work From Home Better and Stay Mentally Fit

Article: How the Profession I Love Took a Toll on My Health

 

NYSBA GUIDANCE ON RE-OPENING LAW FIRMS

Please click here.

 

Article:  Millennials Are the Most Influential Generation in Stopping the Spread of Coronavirus

https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/HealthU/2020/05/03/millennials-are-the-most-influential-generation-in-stopping-the-spread-of-coronavirus/

 

Article: How Lawyers Can Manage Stress and Cortisol Levels During the COVID-19 Crisis

https://www.abajournal.com/voice/article/why-lawyers-need-to-know-about-cortisol

 

WELCOME TO VIRTUAL GYM!

Are you feeling the need to be more connected with friends and colleagues?  The virtual gym may help.  The virtual gym is an online space where you can do your own personal workout, or a designed workout.  You can see your friends doing their own personal workouts, which may help you feel more connected.  You can all workout together, or separately – it’s up to you!  It is more important than ever that we make an effort to take care of ourselves both physically and mentally with the amount of stress that we are under.  With gyms being closed, a virtual gym and is a great way to stay active and connected to others at home!  I have been working out with others in a virtual gym for many years and have found it to be the best alternative to seeing people at the gym.  You choose what workout you will do and everyone in the gym (zoom room) is on mute.   The gym is open 24/7 and you can use it any time – these days I am in there from 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.  We are sharing this with you here with the hopes that you will use it together, along with some sample workouts that we will share (or any other home workout you like), to stay connected and take care of yourself at home!  If you have any questions about how the gym works, the sample workouts, or any technical difficulties, please contact me at lauracatina@catinalawpllc.com.  We hope to see you there!

Here is the link to the virtual gym:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9890754973

Please note you will need access to a laptop/computer with a camera.

The links to the sample workouts are in the attached pdf. 

9 Sample Workouts

 

Attorney Well-Being NYSBA Roundtable

https://nysba.org/attorney-well-being/?utm_campaign=MCI&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86034779&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--3TfT4ziXRIV7TFbyAu8vBNFn5JErQ_bFH6R9T7QajXG2ujg0FNA1QCjNCDhPzACzXYgRoB2D3M_cpx8yJ-JzounSfig&_hsmi=86034779

 

10 Tips for Lawyers to Help Alleviate Stress

10 Tips for Lawyers to Help Alleviate Stress in Our Lives

By:  Andrea F. Composto, Esq.

 

Lawyers live very stressful lives.  It’s the nature of the beast.  We are also in a helping profession and are trained to be laser-focused on helping our clients.  Sometimes this laser-focus turns into blinders and we forget that the best way to help others is to first take care of ourselves.  Now more than ever, with the trauma of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, we have an added layer of stress, worry and tension on our plates.  We need to be good to ourselves now more than ever.

Here are some tips and tools that every lawyer can use to help alleviate our stress, help rejuvenate our minds and bodies and put us back on a productive, healthy path:

  • Planning is Key:  Time management is a struggle for many lawyers.  Now that we are encouraged to work from home in an effort to #flattenthecurve, it is even harder to manage a schedule…. Especially if you are homeschooling your children.  If you wake up in the morning and feel a sense of anxiety as to how you are going to tackle everything you have to do, chances are you struggle with time-management.  So what can we do to help alleviate this?  LISTS!!!  Make lists!  Prioritize your list and cross off each task upon completion.  You’d be surprised how accomplished you’ll feel my crossing items off a “to-do” list!!  It is imperative to find an organizational tool to visually keep you on track, and making a good, old-fashioned “to-do” list is a simple, yet effective way to accomplish this.
  • Use a Calendar:  Many of us have several irons in the fire and it is impossible to remember every meeting, every filing deadline and every court appearance without a calendar.  Now, truth be told, I’m a fan of a paper calendar… BUT… for the purpose of reducing stress, don’t be a dinosaur like me, invest in an on-line calendar; one that can be shared with your staff and associates.  You can even use Google Calendar; it’s Free!  Since many of us are working from home it’s an easy way for your staff to know what deadlines are in place, what virtual meetings need to take place and when and what the overall office schedule is for the week/month.  It’s a “checks and balance” system for you and your staff.
  • Exercise:  Make it a priority to get some form of physical exercise most days of the week.  We can’t go out to the gym these days, but bring your workout home.  Dust off those work-out DVDs, upload a Yoga App or even run the stairs at your house.  If you don’t like to exercise (insert hand-raising here) then get creative!  Crank up the volume to your favorite dance music and dance in your living-room.  If you have kids, involve them too with a spontaneous dance-party!  Who doesn’t like a dance-party?!?
  • Eat Well:  I will admit, when we were first faced with this pandemic, one of the things this Italian girl thought of was, “Do I have enough food in the house”?  This quickly sent me into a flurry of cooking and freezing meals.  If you’re not someone who likes to cook, that’s OK, there are healthy curb-side pick-up and delivery options from which to choose; and on a side note, you will be supporting your local restaurants too!  I also know that it’s a common “go-to” for people in stressful times to “stress-eat”,  but just because we are self-quarantined, doesn’t mean we have to eat the entire box of Girl Scout cookies in one sitting…. Two sittings is completely acceptable (lol, you get my point)    Healthy eating is just as important as physical exercise.  Not only can the correct foods keep you feeling great, physically, they can also promote clarity and thoughtfulness. 
  • Get Enough Sleep:  Stress and lack of sleep tend to go hand-in-hand.  There have been many nights when I have been up at night unable to fall asleep because of the stresses in my life.  Not having enough sleep made the follow day(s) even harder to manage.  Lack of sleep can feed an over-anxious mind leaving you irritable and easily agitated.  When you go to bed, don’t take your smart phone or tablet with you.  Don’t check your emails and for the love of all that is holy, don’t scroll through social media!! The harsh lights emanating from your device and the unnerving content you find on the internet will only fuel the vicious cycle of stress and lack of sleep.  If you have difficulty sleeping, try breathing exercises, listen to sleep meditations or even invest in a sound machine with soothing background noises.  My favorite is “city rain”…apparently there is a difference between city and county rain… who knew!
  • Connect with Colleagues and Friends:  We can’t interact with our friends and colleagues in-person because, let’s face it… the 6 feet away rule doesn’t lend itself to true personal connections.  This is difficult.  Right about now, I bet we are missing the personal connections we have on a daily basis… whether it be chatting at the water cooler, commiserating with a colleague after court, grabbing a beer after work with friends.  But fear not!  We still can lean on our people… just in a different way.  Pick up the phone and have a conversation with a friend. (Remember when we used to do this all of the time?!?)  Call your colleague to discuss work; don’t rely solely on email.  Even better, FaceTime, WhatsApp or hold a Zoom Happy Hour with your friends after work.  We CAN do this; we just need to be creative!  
  • Therapy: There is no shame in admitting that you need the assistance of a licensed professional to help you through these challenging times.  These are unprecedented times.  People who suffer from depression and anxiety are at risk of suffering at an elevated level and need additional help and guidance.  If you broke your arm, wouldn’t you go to the doctor to get it reset?  Why then would you let your mind struggle unnecessarily?  If your mental health is struggling, please reach out and get help.
  • Music:  Music is Medicine.  I am always saying this. The effects of Music on your mental health are well documented.  Music can enhance your mood, decrease your stress levels and even lower your blood pressure! It can calm your soul and your mind.  Play some music while working.  Have it on in the background.  If you are not the type of person that can have any music or noise while you work, then take some time each day to stop working and listen to your favorite music and decompress from the stresses of the day.  Create a play-list, tune you’re your Spotify jams, pop in a well-loved CD or spin a favorite record.  Whichever you choose, let the music move you into a place of peace.
  • Delegate:  Why do you have a Staff if you continue to do everything yourself?  I’m sure you have hired smart, capable staff members to help you and your law firm operate successfully.  Trust them to handle the tasks that don’t absolutely require your specific attention.  That way, you can free-up some space in your day (and in your mind) for more pressing tasks.
  • Embrace Technology:  Technology is a gift.  Now more than ever we need to embrace technology.  There are a plethora of Apps that can keep you organized, calendared and up-to-date with your meetings.  I bet the owners of Zoom are pretty happy now, right?  There are even meditation apps, exercise apps and food-trackers!  Everything that you need to help you in your journey to a less stressful life, technology can help you.  I know for many of us, technology can be daunting, but I promise, it can become your friend if you just introduce yourself to it. 

Be good to yourselves.  I promise we will all get through these crazy times.  Lean on your family, friends and colleagues to help you navigate these uncharted waters and reach into your tool-box and use these 10 tips to help enhance your days and nights and to help you achieve a proper work-life balance.