Thursday, December 20, 2007

Where did the year go??


This year has been crazy in a good way. Here are some highlights for the "Mediation & Law Office of Paula M. Lawhon":

1. I moved to a new office in my building early in the year to get two much-needed mediation/conference rooms in addition to my office, which also functions as a mediation room. This has made it so much easier to schedule mediations since I no longer have to sign up for the shared conference rooms in my building.

2. Early in the year, I also acknowledged my need for a full-time assistant and have been amazed at my own productivity since then.

3. Later in the year, I came to embrace my desire and ability to help people going through complex divorces and other family matters by keeping them out of court and in mediation where they can work through private financial and custody matters with less antagonism and no court involvement. This step meant fewer mediations in employment law, real estate, business, etc. in order to make room for the family law mediation referrals I received. As a former employment lawyer and civil litigation attorney, this was not what I expected. But my current practice as a family law attorney has also helped me to shift my focus into the family law arena. This has been a good shift for me.

4. Until this month, I have kept up with my weekly blog entries on mediation news and thoughts I've had about my own mediations and I also focused on writing a detailed article on settlement agreements for a legal magazine. I enjoy writing but I definitely don't enjoy the feeling I get when I haven't had the time to post a blog entry! Sometimes there's only so much of me to go around!

5. And, finally, I'd like to just say "Whoa!!!" to this end-of-year rush that's happening in what seems like all of my cases. Looks like I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping with everyone else who got bombarded with work obligations this month! I empathize with you!!

Happy Holidays to everyone! I wish everyone a peaceful new year!

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