Brooke & Jones Professional Services

"To many in the legal profession, the term “lawyer mental health” may seem like a contradiction. The demanding hours and stressful work environments at many law firms often have detrimental effects on legal professionals, who struggle to manage high-levels of stress and find time for self-care. Mental health issues among lawyers are notoriously prevalent, as are substance abuse and addiction."

https://www.clio.com/blog/lawyer-wellness-mental-health/

Lawyer Mental Health and Wellness: Why It Matters Lawyer wellness and mental health are important concepts for all legal professionals and legal organizations to understand—and promote.

Why Lawyer Burnout Is Still An Issue in 2021?

"New stressors brought on by the pandemic such as isolation due to working remotely, home child care and learning, disconnection from family members, or even deaths from the pandemic have thrown new curveballs for lawyers to deal with on top of their work. "

Keep reading to learn more about burnout and how to mitigate its effects.

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/why-lawyer-burnout-still-issue-2021

It's Friday but I'm still working.

Who else's weekend is starting late? 🙋🏾‍♀️

When you hear that your client's documents have been pushed through quicker than expected!

Share a small win of yours that happened today!

What Is “Expungement?”

"To “expunge” is to “erase or remove completely.” In law, “expungement” is the process by which a record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed from state or federal record. An expungement order directs the court to treat the criminal conviction as if it had never occurred, essentially removing it from a defendant’s criminal record as well as, ideally, the public record."

Understanding expungement is crucial in the quest for social justice and equality around ma*****na offenses disproportionately impacted people of color.

Learn more about it here: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/what-is-_expungement-/

What Is “Expungement?” It is not uncommon among juvenile court proceedings to encounter the term “expungement,” or find an expungement order issued by the court. What does it mean? Here, Teaching Legal Docs will explore an expungement order, and try to place the document in a larger context of law and culture.

Client documents prepared for processing...my Monday is looking good!

How about yours?

Forbes released an article entitled, "How To Address Burnout In The Legal Profession"

This is so timely as we continue to contend with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Burnout is REAL and if you ignore it, it may cost you your health.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauladavis/2021/04/27/how-to-address-burnout-in-the-legal-profession/?sh=57ca4744434b

How To Address Burnout In The Legal Profession We need to learn more about burnout in the legal profession so that we can start to address its causes in a systemic way.

Sunday's are for Self-Care!

Checkout Berkeley Law's article on self-care for legal professionals: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/students/wellness/self-care/

Self-Care Law school can be stressful, so can life. Sometimes law school + life gets to be a lot. The key to managing both is knowing how to take care of yourself. Practicing self-care and stress management now will help you to prioritize your goals and balance the demands of your personal and professional li...

Forbes released an article entitled, "How To Address Burnout In The Legal Profession"

This is so timely as we continue to contend with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Burnout is REAL and if you ignore it, it may cost you your health.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauladavis/2021/04/27/how-to-address-burnout-in-the-legal-profession/?sh=57ca4744434b

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, "More than six million arrests occurred between 2010 and 2018, and Black people are still more likely to be arrested for ma*****na possession than white people in every state, including those that have legalized ma*****na."

This means Black people are disproportionately arrested and charged with ma*****na possession, despite its legalization in many states across the U.S.

This is a problem.

Although, many are being released due to new laws, the charges remain on their records, thus hindering them from leading productive lives.

One of the main areas that I focus on as a paralegal is supporting the individuals in the expungement process.

This opens new doors and helps those who have been wrongly impacted by ma*****na offenses to be given the opportunity to start fresh.

Learn more by contacting us at https://www.brookeandjones.com

*****na

Why Marriage And Divorce Rates Are Dropping During The Pandemic?

It isn't for the reasons you might think!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/naomicahn/2021/01/15/why-marriage-and-divorce-rates-are-dropping-during-the-pandemic/?sh=586128ae56c2

Did you know that using a divorce paralegal in place of an attorney might be the better route for some clients seeking a divorce?

Find out why: https://www.brides.com/can-i-use-a-paralegal-instead-of-a-divorce-attorney-1102777

It's the website for me!😍

Visit us at https://www.brookeandjones.com to learn more about us and our services.

How do you prepare for Monday's?

A few items that I like to do to prepare for the week ahead include:

➡️Start your morning with a smile and positive thoughts.

➡️Figure out your daily schedule and plan things in advance.

➡️Write down the things you must accomplish.

➡️ Prepare your important documents and work tools.

Do you do any of these things?

Do you find yourself passionate about your career as a legal professional but feeling burnt out. You might be experiencing compassion fatigue.

"Compassion fatigue is the cumulative physical, emotional and psychological effect of exposure to traumatic stories or events when working in a helping capacity, combined with the strain and stress of everyday life."

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/resources/compassion_fatigue/

Compassion Fatigue Compassion fatigue is the cumulative physical, emotional and psychological effect of exposure to traumatic stories or events when working in a helping capacity, combined with the strain and stress of everyday life.

Law students, this is for you!

"Law students will be the first to tell you: law school is stressful. It’s competitive, expectations are high, and there’s a lot to do with only so many hours to do it. ...too much stress—especially the long-lasting kind—is not so good. It can lead to everything from headaches and weight gain to heart disease and depression. It can also hurt your memory and cognitive abilities, which is the last thing you want in law school, not to mention as a professional lawyer."

Learn how to mitigate the stress of law school with these tips: https://www.nesl.edu/blog/detail/how-to-deal-with-law-school-stress-in-healthy-ways

Wrapping up the last call - cheers to the weekend!

Another day, another thought.

As a legal professional, my aim to ease the burden of conducting research and drafting legal documents for clients who are seeking record expungement.

I am resolved to facilitate this process as quickly and smoothly as possible because the livelihood of the individual is at stake.

While I do feel pressure from this, I also feel a sense of gratitude for being able to be apart of life-changing work.

Are you familiar with the currently expungement and sealing laws in Illinois around ma*****na? If not, this could be helpful for you or someone you know.

https://www2.illinois.gov/osad/Expungement/Pages/Cannabis-Expungement.aspx

Research. Briefing. Discovery. Delivering results that matter every day! 📚🏭⚖️

"Self-care for legal professionals is a new perspective for many of us. Legal professionals must approach self-care with the same drive and dedication as they do their cases. It is so easy to get in the “zone” or stuck in a rut. Give yourself a mental break. Give yourself a gift—work self-care into your daily dedication routine."

https://www.bestvirtualparalegal.com/blog/stress/self-care-for-legal-professionals

Self-care for Legal Professionals Self-care for legal professionals is a new perspective for many of us. Legal professionals must approach self-care with the same drive and dedication as they do their cases. It is so easy to get in the “zone” or stuck in a rut. Give yourself a mental break. Give yourself a gift—work self-care ...

"Taking care of your long-term mental and physical health is an important part of stress management. However, there isn’t always time to take a nap, hike a fourteener, or read a novel. Thus, here are 25 ways to reduce stress in five minutes or less."

Check out these tips from the University of Colorado-Boulder on ways to reduce stress. These are extremely useful for legal professionals.

https://www.colorado.edu/law/25-quick-ways-reduce-stress

That Friday Feeling!✨

All items checked off of the to-do list and I am signing off.

How do you plan on spending your Friday?

On April 22, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau released data on and through 2016.

Highlights from this data included the following:

➡️ Based on S*x: Women who divorced in the previous 12 months were more likely than recently divorced men to be in poverty.

➡️ Based on Age: Between 2008 and 2016, the median age at first marriage rose approximately two full years to 30 for men and 28 for women.

➡️ Based on Race: Among race and Hispanic origin groups, ever-married Asian women and men had the lowest proportion ever-divorced (14% and 11%, respectively).

Although this data is from previous years, the facts are still very relevant.

➡️Women have been found to be more at risk for financial burdens/poverty following divorce.

➡️The age average remains around 28-30.

➡️Asian-Americans remain among groups who experience the lowest rates of divorce.

With having data such as this, it provides a comprehensive and realistic look at marriage within the U.S.

Do these rates shock you?

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/marriages-and-divorces.html

How do you view Wednesday's?

Similar to the glass analogy, do you view as closer to the or the opposite?

Whether you are on the glass half-full or glass half-empty side, in terms of Wednesday's, it is my favorite day of the week.

On Wednesday, I feel everyone has shaken off the dread of and used as a catch up day, so by Wednesday, everyone is feeling refreshed and pumped.

I have found my meetings are , I am working efficiently, and also the post-work happy hours are THE BEST!

What is your favorite day of the week and why?

Are you making self-care mistakes as a legal professional?

If you can't answer that question, you aren't alone. It's so easy to ignore self-care as a legal professional.

Therefore, it is important to recognize the mistakes you are making and how changing these behaviors can lead to being more productive. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-self-care-mistakes-lawyers-make-hannah-beko/

Relax and Let a Paralegal Take Care of It!

October 3rd is fast-approaching!

Get the information you need about the Illinois Eviction Moratorium: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/08/31/illinois-eviction-moratorium-extended-to-october-3/

Illinois Eviction Moratorium Will Be In Effect Until Oct. 3, Gov. JB Pritzker's Office Says The Illinois eviction moratorium will be extended until Oct. 3, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office told CBS 2 Tuesday.