By Guest Blogger: Beth L. Andersen
A review of the Feb. 8 Small Firms Big Success luncheon—Career transitions: preparing and planning for life’s obstacles when all you wanted to do was plan your career
When faced with career stress, lawyers and judges practice meditation, get philosophical, eat healthy, and humbly reach out to others for help and support. Who knew?!
Dianne Van Voorhees revealed these and other coping strategies in her recent presentation to the Solo-Small Firm Section at the Colorado Bar Association.
For years, Ms. Van Voorhees was well known and loved as director of Metro Volunteer Lawyers (MVL.) Last fall, however, both Ms. Van Voorhees and MVL reinvented themselves as Ms. Van Voorhees departed to pursue a career in the judiciary, manning her own firm and continuing her close relationship with her husband and son.
On Feb. 8, 2016, Ms. Van Voorhees lifted the curtain on her adventures, trials and successes she faced while transitioning into a new career in the past months. Those fortunate enough to be present discovered unknown details about this well-known legal figure who, it turns out, is a third generation Colorado native, a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa Tribe, past chair of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council, co-recipient of the Adams Broomfield Bar’s Citizen of the Year Award, and recipient of the Denver American Indian Commission Mayor’s Diversity Award.
But more humbly, and perhaps even more impressively, Ms. Van Voorhees shared the challenges of her career transition: balancing home and family emergencies, setting boundaries while working from home, reinventing herself as an entrepreneur, and overcoming the stress inherent in any major transition. For example, Ms. Van Voorhees was very candid about the struggles of working from home. A dog who wants in then out then in ad nauseam. A family who may expect someone at home to be available for chores. The importance of getting dressed first thing in the morning before an emergency phone call turns into still being in pajamas at 10 a.m.
Asked about the one thing she most wanted to share with blog readers, Ms. Van Voorhees stated that, when faced with career obstacles, a practitioner must be sure not to isolate himself or herself, reaching out to support networks, online resources, books, programs and even meditation in order to weather the typical obstacles inherent in a major career change.
Perhaps the best part of the training was indeed the compilation of dozens of survival tips provided when Ms. Van Voorhees reached out to colleagues inside and outside the legal profession. People ranging from magistrates and judges to priests and artists to stay-at-home mothers and, of course, attorneys, weighed in with pointers. Common themes were the need to prepare for predictable emergencies, the importance of a network, suggested coping mechanisms such as meditation and a healthy diet, and the non-negotiable bottom line: setting boundaries. Yet the survival tips also ventured into a more philosophical realm. It turns out that the need to find meaning in one’s life and work is not just noble; it was one of the most cited types of self-care by the “experts.” They coped better when they recalled that their work had meaning for themselves and others, furthering their worldview.
The transition training included a list of key resources ranging from COBAR and AVVO to common blogs and websites. A person making a career change, or simply facing unprecedented obstacles in the original career, must, as Ms. Van Voorhees pointed out, have a broad support network and must not be ashamed to tap into it. One of the training’s helpful lists for starting a new firm or changing careers included tips such as: don’t be a loner, research, ask for help, plan, be prepared, be flexible, take care of you, set goals, assess, re-asses and study.
As lawyers, we tend to be goal driven and hard on ourselves. This overcomes challenges but can make it hard to set aside the stress of wanting to be better and take on too much. One of the many humorous and insightful quotes presented was from Tyler Knott Gregson and reminds us not to be so hard on ourselves: “Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim.” Based on her own wide circle of resources, we are assured not only that Ms. Van Voorhees will come through swimmingly but also that, inspired by her example, we will too.
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