That’s the intention here. To raise the bar.
Raise it on our own truths.
Our own lives.
Ourselves.
When the scales have been tipped, we dive in, leap forward and move towards what’s true, beckoning and asking to be seen.
Raising the bar in our life is a journey.
Sharing it fuels and lights the way.
Welcome to the Blog.
Every legal seminar and workshop that I’ve gone to over the last 29 years has been about improving my knowledge of the law and how to effectively communicate to a jury — until The Lawyers as Changemakers workshop. I attended and spoke at last Friday. While technical...
I’m honored and excited to be a speaker and sponsor for Portland's first Lawyer’s as Changemakers event. We hear lots of legitimate complaints about the legal system and not enough ideas about how to bring about needed transformation. This has been my mission with...
My search for Joy started in 2001. I’d been living in Portland for three years, when I found myself not so much unhappy with being a lawyer, but not experiencing the deep satisfaction I wanted. As I cast about trying to find what was missing, I came up empty. I’d...
We all have our share of hard times. My senior year in high school stands out as one of my darkest. None my friends knew the depth of what was going on inside of me, save one person, Steve Earl. At school, I laughed and joked. I kept my grades up and worked hard at...
It’s a warm sunny morning as I’m walking to the courthouse. Instead of soaking up the sun, I find myself nose deep in my own thoughts, thinking about what might go wrong in an upcoming case. Back at the office, I’m sitting at my desk editing a letter and I catch...
Just the other week I was talking with a client who hadn’t worked in eight months because of being rear ended. After months of therapy and injections, the verdict was in. He needed surgery. One year prior to this accident, he had a knee replacement and finally...
Following is a poem I wrote, “The Caged Truth”, was recently featured in an international lawyer’s magazine called “The Conscious Lawyer”. The magazine is a fresh and visionary publication about law from a conscious perspective. Challenging the status quo about...
It’s never too late to shape the way being a lawyer ripples through the hours and days outside of my practice. If I keep my nose to the grindstone, working too many hours, banging out as much work as I can, I feel it when I’m at home. I’m too much in my head. I’m...
It started on a Friday afternoon 15 years ago. I came home after picking up my two girls from grade school. Jan was watching Oprah and she said, “You should sit down and watch this. I think you’d really like it.” Somewhat begrudgingly, I joined her. It’s not that I...
While I can’t give my clients everything they want. I can give them what all of us are truly looking for— to be treated fairly. That’s one of my top jobs as an attorney. If I don’t, I’ve failed my client, society, and myself. I can have a powerful effect on how my...
Are you ready to integrate your work life and your personal life to make the best overall life possible for you?
Wendy Votroubek,
LegalNursePDX.com
In my senior year in high school, I was internally falling apart, after picking my mom up at the Oregon State Mental Hospital. There was one person who helped me put myself back together: Steve Earl. I didn’t deserve his help. After hearing all the mean things I’d...
Don’t forget your compass. It makes sense that you think about using it when you’re lost, in an area you don’t know well or when you’re at a critical junction. You’re actually in greatest need of your compass when you’re traveling through familiar lands — such as work...
Preparing for my presentation on “Fake Listening” for the Lawyer's as Changemakers seminar made it crystal clear that the negative reputation we lawyers have is self-inflicted. Here’s a breakdown of the four primary complaints about lawyers: Lack of communication...