4. Handling responsibility

This section includes:

  • Explanatory text
  • “Handling responsibility” checklist
  • 1 video.

You should allow yourself 15 minutes to complete this section.

Get the balance right

Legal practice can sometimes feel like a balancing act between giving your clients the best advice and assistance possible, but also ensuring you are avoiding putting you and/or your employer at any risk of liability if things go wrong. You may also be experiencing pressures relating to chargeable hours and billing targets. Sometimes balancing the conflict from these different roles, responsibilities and pressures can be challenging or stressful.

Additionally, the more responsibility you take on, the more worry this can cause and the more decisions you will have to take. It is important to be able to handle this process in an emotionally and psychologically healthy manner to help you find an appropriate balance and handle your responsibilities well.

“Sometimes because you’re so busy of course you can go around in circles in your behaviour because you don’t really have time to stop and think how you’re reacting to people or situations.”

(Solicitor, Scotland)

Section 2 of these resources demonstrated the role of emotion in judgement and decision-making. It is important to acknowledge and utilise this when it comes to taking on and handling responsibility and balancing your obligations. This checklist can help you do this:

Handling responsibility checklist

Be self-aware

Discussion

Take the time to understand what emotions handling responsibility generates and how these impact on you. One useful way to do this is by practising mindful meditation, but there are many others. For example, you could draft your own personal self-help manual based on the strengths and weaknesses you identified when working through these resources

Be conscious of internal conflicts and tensions

Discussion

Identifying then ignoring internal conflicts means that they will continue generate negative emotional responses, including incidental emotions that distract you from the task at hand. There is also the danger that you are disregarding important signals telling you that there is an ethical or moral issue you need to address.

…But don’t let fear or a lack of confidence take over

Discussion

Remember the examples in Box 5 of Section 3.2. You should make sure you are not defining yourself by previous mistakes, or avoiding challenging yourself because it is out of your usual comfort zone.

Don’t internalise the expectations of others around you

Discussion

Sometimes individuals will openly state their expectations for you (for example “you should be aiming for promotion within a year”). At other times, you may feel there are implied expectations (for example, “I got this job because of my high level of chargeable hours, so I need to keep increasing them”) You can’t always assume that you are interpreting these expectations correctly, but even if you are, they don’t have to rule your decision-making process. It is important to remember they are other peoples’ perspectives, and that yours can be different.

…But let people help you bear the burden

Discussion

It is a good idea to chat through your thoughts and emotions with others, to get their input and perspective. This could be work colleagues or friends.

Think outside the box

Discussion

Don’t assume because something is the norm it has to be (or even should be) that way. For example, if you are offered a promotion, it’s easy to instantly agree because of the status and financial rewards involved, but if you are agreeing for those reasons, there’s some evidence it is unlikely to make you happy or fulfilled. This is known as “extrinsic” as opposed to “intrinsic” motivation (Deci and Ryan, 2000).

In practical terms, a key part of handling responsibility can be ensuring that you are organising and managing your time appropriately and maintaining an effective work-life balance This video gives some practical tips from legal professionals on getting the balance right.

Organisation and balance

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PAUL NEVIN
Practical tips for looking after health and well being, I would say, I've got one very simple one. And it would come, again, from a self-awareness and a self acceptance. And it came a little difficult to me. But I, in my working day, would always try and-- sorry, would always expect 100% of myself, let's say between 9 and 5. As a more self aware and self accepting individual, I realised that is not possible. So my tip for legal professionals would be to have a think about your day between 9 and 5, a general average normal day, and think when you usually perform best.
So in my own example, I seem to perform best in the early morning and then again in the very early evening. In between, which is unfortunate, as I work 9 to 5, I'm not as sharp. And so if I've got difficult and complex stuff to do I will table that into my day the first thing in the morning or after 5:00 in the evening. And it sounds like a very simple thing, but it has released me from the self criticism of trying to tackle something difficult at 3 o'clock in the afternoon when I'm starting to flag.
PATRICIA WHITE
Yes, I do have some practical tips. As a sole practitioner, it's important, certainly for me, to be able to find time out and realise when I need to have that time out, even if it's only to break up the working day, maybe perhaps an hour, to go for a walk, get out of the office, get some fresh air. It's important to make sure that you look after yourself.
In perhaps a larger organisation, where people are working together, it's important to be able confident to say no. And one of the reasons why it's important is because we have professional obligations. And therefore, if we feel that we are approaching an overload, we need to be feeling confident to be able to say no. And that provides the opportunity, then, for respect within the profession and also a warning sign for the employer to make sure that they can support the employee.
AMANDA TIPPLES
My other practical tip is that it is crucial to maintain a life outside the bar. It's really important to have a hinterland which is beyond work. And in terms of what one does or how you achieve that, even if it's going from a brisk walk, having dinner with a friend, making sure that you have a meal with your family regularly, it's crucial to actually maintain that. Go to the theatre with a friend. Go the cinema.
All of these things are really important because, although it may sound trite, the most important things in life do not happen at work. They happen outside work. And we all know that. But it's making sure that you maintain your interests and you see your friends and family and make time to see them. And of course, it's that which is a really crucial part of ensuring resilience and keeping yourself happy and healthy in order to carry out your job.
KAYLEIGH LEONIE
My top tips to support your well well being in private practise would be to set yourself non-negotiables. So for example, I like to go to the gym a couple of times a week and I like to get to bed at certain times. And if I let those non-negotiables lapse or I let them fall away, then I find myself being under increased pressure. And I don't get that break I need.
I also try to leave the office every day for a break, whether that's just a 10 minute walk around the block at lunchtime. And I also like to switch off from my phone and from my work laptop. So regardless of how busy I am, I don't take my work phone into the bedroom. I leave it downstairs. So I've got a good break before I go to sleep to unwind and relax and not think about work until the following morning when I pick it up again on the way to work.
VLAD VALIENTE
I understood through very wise people before me who have mentored me and coached me that work isn't everything. Yes, we spend a lot of time there. And you've got to enjoy your work to lead a healthy working life. But recognising that there's a lot more to work and that in a way is a means to an end. And we have to work, absolutely. We recognise that. So you might as well be somewhere that you enjoy. But ultimately, if your family life or other things come to play, they might have to be prioritised. And that I think is very important.
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3.2 Dealing with mistakes

5. Dealing with stress