Happy New Year, and what a year that was. Host Montana Funk sits down with Tamara Nash, chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, to review 2023 and share stories from listeners about the past year.

For listeners, it was a year of lessons learned. Learning how to separate work and life is difficult, but in one case, a young lawyer reported that an unexpected health issue forced her to learn what life’s about and that it’s OK to ask for help. Hear how she learned that being a good lawyer means being a healthy lawyer. Take care of yourself.

In another letter, a listener shares how, like our host, they moved to the United States and took on a career in law. Leaning on the resources of the American Bar Association and the state bar has proven crucial to success in a challenging field.

And it was a year of “back to normal” after those crazy COVID years. For young lawyers who worked through the pandemic, 2023 was a time to catch up on the training and mentoring they missed. Hear how a senior lawyer recognized that gap and redoubled efforts to help younger attorneys. Rebuild connections, professional and personal.

Young Lawyer Rising is more than a podcast; it’s a community. Draw inspiration from how others overcame life’s bumps during the past year. Embrace your professional colleagues and know that you’re never alone. Support is all around you.

Blair Hlinka served as the associate producer on this episode of Young Lawyer Rising.

Resources:

Thinking Like a Lawyer to Navigate the Challenges of Long COVID

Pushing Yourself Too Hard? Your Health and Wellness Matters

How to Make Your Law Firm See the Benefits of Bar Involvement

5 Tips for Mentoring and Managing Legal Interns

The Importance of Mentorship and Sponsorship in the Legal Profession

University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division