LawJobsPipeline.com – Legal Jobs Blog – We all know the law’s one of life’s more stressful occupations and so does Mary Mocine, a 63 year old Zen priest and – get this – former litigator who founded a labor law firm in Berkeley and then burned out herself following work stress, divorce and all the other challenges life confronts us with.
The San Francisco Chronicle carried an interesting article we couldn’t resist – Zen And The Art Of Lawyering – which looks at how Zen and meditation can help lawyers overcome stress, even in their adversarial roles.
Mocine, who no longer practices law, talked about techniques of “active listening, communication and self-awareness” as all being applicable in the courtroom. “You can be fierce without being hateful. Being a Zen teacher and a temple priest is what’s important.”
This is not woolly-minded, tree hugging. The law, like many jobs, takes a heavy toll on those who practice it. A 1990 John Hopkins University report shows that lawyers suffer from higher depression rates than other professions.
