Happy Lawyer Happy Life

Happy Lawyer Happy Life Unhappiness in law is rife but there are ways we can be happy both in our legal careers & more impor Unhappiness in our profession is rife. Clarissa Rayward

The incidence of mental health problems within the legal profession is two to three times that within the general population. Being a lawyer, working in law and loving the many lawyers that are my friends I have come to accept that this career comes with ups and downs, highs and lows, successes and lessons. But find me a career that doesn’t. I think we put too much pressure on ourselves, our jobs, our employers and sometimes even our relationships to make us happy when really it is up to us. 'Happy Lawyer, Happy Life' is a community where we can share the challenges of being a lawyer while opening a positive dialogue about happiness in law and life. I had better introduce myself and welcome you to my new page, Happy Lawyer, Happy Life. I am a divorce lawyer and run a busy practice in sunny Brisbane Australia. I love what I do (most of the time) and generally describe myself as a happy lawyer. But it wasn't always this way and over the past few years I have had to work hard to find a way to be a 'happy lawyer'! It all started one Saturday night when I decided to start a blog- The Happy Family Lawyer. At the time I wasn't that happy- I had started to lose some of my passion and drive and was struggling with my life as a lawyer. That night I made a decision- I knew I wanted to be a lawyer and it was time for me to find a way to make sure I could be happy at the same time. Little did I know that the decision that night to start sharing my thoughts on life, love and divorce would be the beginning of me finding my own happiness in law and in life. And so, 3 years later I am turning my attention to the lawyers around me- depression and unhappiness are rife in our industry and the statistics are now overwhelming. I am hoping that by sharing my own experience as a lawyer and those of many I know we can all find a way to ensure that great lawyers stay in law. And so- welcome to 'Happy Lawyer, Happy Life'! Over the past few months I have been penning a book sharing my own experience of happiness in law and life and have launched a Podcast by the same name, interviewing other 'happy lawyers' on their own experience of law, happiness and life! So welcome, I am looking forward to learning, sharing and hearing from you as we open up a positive dialogue about happiness in law and in life.

11/10/2026

Sometimes what looks like someone being difficult, disengaged, overwhelmed or unable to follow what is happening is actually something else entirely.

It might be trauma. It might be neurodivergence. It might be language or literacy, culture, stress, or simply the pressure created by the legal process itself.

That is the thinking behind Same Law, Different Lens.

The law may be the same, but the person experiencing it is not. And when we understand that, we can start making small, practical changes to the way we communicate, the way we structure conversations and the way we support people through the process.

This workshop is not about diagnosing anyone. It is about noticing more, understanding more, and meeting people where they are.

Same Law, Different Lens
Thursday 15 October
9.00am–12.30pm AEST
Brisbane or live online

If this feels relevant to the way you practise, I would love to have you there.

It’s October, the Christmas decorations are already appearing in the shops, and I still have quite a few things I would ...
08/10/2026

It’s October, the Christmas decorations are already appearing in the shops, and I still have quite a few things I would like to fit into this year. Perhaps you do too? 😂

So, in the spirit of being completely unsubtle, here are four ways you can spend some time with us before Christmas.

If you would like another way to help your clients:
Our final Introduction to Collaborative Practice training for 2026 starts Friday, 9 October.

If you would like to better understand the humans:
Come along to Same Law, Different Lens on Thursday, 15 October, in Brisbane or online.

If you would like someone else to organise a lovely weekend for you:
Our Happy Lawyer Retreat is in the Blue Mountains from 6 to 8 November.

If you would like this sort of support more often than once a year:
The Club might be your place.

Four invitations. One very obvious sales post. Hopefully one of them sounds like exactly what you need right now.

Choose your adventure via the link in bio.

P.S. Choosing more than one is absolutely allowed. I am clearly not going to talk you out of that. 😂

Imagine yourself here.I have been thinking a lot about the early Happy Lawyer Happy Life Retreats lately and what made t...
07/10/2026

Imagine yourself here.

I have been thinking a lot about the early Happy Lawyer Happy Life Retreats lately and what made them so magic.

It was never about cramming the weekend full. It was about getting good humans in the same place, having the conversations you do not always get time for, and stepping far enough away from the day-to-day to think properly again.

So this November, we are going back to that.

A smaller group that allows for more space, more time and more room for the conversations about business and life that tend to happen when nobody is rushing off to the next thing.

And of course, one Retreat tradition is absolutely staying… poolside. This time, just with the Blue Mountains. 😂

6 to 8 November 2026
Ardour Lilianfels, Blue Mountains

If that sounds like exactly what you need before the year disappears, come and join us.

It feels right to have some of the people who were there at the beginning back around the table, and we would love for you to be there too.

Details in the link in our bio or just comment Retreat and we will get them to you.

06/10/2026

I have been thinking a lot lately about the little things in legal practice that can make a big difference to the person experiencing it.

The way we write an email.
The way we explain something.
The way we structure a meeting.
The way we respond when someone seems overwhelmed, disengaged or unsure.

That thinking is what sits behind Same Law, Different Lens.

On Thursday 15 October, I’ll be sharing some of what we have been learning, noticing and changing in practice around neurodiversity and trauma-informed work.

Not to diagnose people. Not to make things more complicated.

Just to look at the way we practise through a slightly different lens, and consider where small changes might make the experience of law a little easier for the humans in it.

Brisbane + live online.
Come and join the conversation. 🌈

04/10/2026

Lucy shares some wonderful insight into her experience in the Club and a little Return on Luck.

Share this with someone you think would enjoy joining us in The Club.

03/10/2026

Girl to girl: you can love law and still want something different.

Not every lawyer dreams of partnership or wants to run a larger firm, bill more hours or climb the next rung of the ladder.

You should know that, that's okay!

Because wanting something different doesn't mean you've fallen out of love with law. Perhaps it just means you've outgrown the version of law you thought you were supposed to want.

Do you want more flexibility? or perhaps to build a business and not just a practice?

Maybe you want to speak, write, teach, mentor, create content, host workshops, start a podcast, or explore an idea that's been sitting in the back of your mind for years.

Maybe it's all of the above!

The legal profession is full of incredibly talented people with skills that extend far beyond client files and courtrooms.

The challenge is that many of us have never been given permission to imagine what else is possible.

That's one of the reasons The Club exists.

Not because everyone wants to leave law.

But because so many lawyers want to build a career that fits who they are now.

Girl to girl: you don't have to make your legal career fit into a box. And you don't have to figure it out on your own!

Seven Friday mornings can really change the way you think about helping families through separation.Our Introduction to ...
01/10/2026

Seven Friday mornings can really change the way you think about helping families through separation.

Our Introduction to Collaborative Practice training is practical, human and built around exactly what Allison has captured here: keeping clients at the centre, bringing the right professionals into the room and working together to find a way forward.

Our final 2026 intake starts Friday 9 October.

If Collaborative Practice has been sitting on your “I really should do that” list, this is your chance.

Come and join us. 🌈

“Why are they being so difficult?”I suspect most of us working in law have had that thought at some point. Perhaps a cli...
30/09/2026

“Why are they being so difficult?”

I suspect most of us working in law have had that thought at some point. Perhaps a client hasn’t answered the same question for the third time. Perhaps they’ve missed a deadline, gone quiet, or sent us a very long email that doesn’t quite answer what we asked.

It’s easy to assume they’re being difficult. But what if the question we asked, the way we asked it, or the moment we asked it made it difficult for them to respond?

That little shift in thinking can change what we do next- Maybe we make the question clearer, give them more time or pick up the phone.

These aren’t enormous changes to the way we practise law. But for a person dealing with trauma, or whose brain works differently from ours, they can make an enormous difference.

That’s what we’ll be exploring in **Same Law. Different Lens.** It’s a practical half-day workshop about neurodiversity, trauma and the small changes we can make to how we communicate with clients and each other.

Join me on Thursday 15 October, in Brisbane or online. Individual and team tickets are available.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Why are they being so difficult?”, this one is for you. 💗

(details in the bio or reach out and we will get them to you!)

28/09/2026

I have spent a large part of my career encouraging more professionals to practise Collaboratively, so this is possibly not my strongest sales strategy…

But I genuinely think Collaborative Practice training makes you better at far more than Collaborative Practice.

It changes the questions you ask, the way you listen, the way you negotiate and the way you work with other professionals. And the way you understand humans when they are stressed, frightened, angry or just slightly weird (including you!). 😂

And as more of the technical “doing” in our work becomes easier with AI, I think those very human skills are only becoming more valuable.

Our final Online Introduction to Collaborative Practice course for 2026 starts Friday 9 October.

🎉 Confetti Lawyer Truth #22You don't need permission to do law differently.One of the most interesting things we've obs...
26/09/2026

🎉 Confetti Lawyer Truth #22
You don't need permission to do law differently.

One of the most interesting things we've observed over the years is how often lawyers wait for someone to tell them it's okay.

Okay to work flexibly, leave private practice, start a firm, charge differently, prioritise family or build a career that looks different from everyone else's.

But the lawyers creating meaningful change in our profession rarely started with permission.

They started with a question:

'What if there was a better way?'

This prompts innovation in law. A new business model, a healthier workplace, someone avoiding what seems like inevitable burnout.

It all began because someone was willing to challenge the idea that this is simply how things have always been done.

The future of law is going to be built by lawyers who are willing to think differently and DO differently.

What's one thing you've done in your career that felt unconventional at the time, but turned out to be exactly the right decision?
🎉

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