Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett’s book How Emotions Are Made is an eye-opener. For those of you familiar with Daniel Kahneman’s best-selling book, I describe it as Thinking, Fast and Slow but for the emotional aspects of our brains. In a nutshell, Dr Feldman Barrett shows that our colloquial understanding of how emotions function is largely backwards.

Focusing your time and energy on finding ways to get the most out of your limited free time is likely a more realistic and effective strategy than striving for an unattainable “balance” between work time and free time.

What we wanted in a career ten years ago isn’t necessarily what we want today, or will want in ten years time. The good news is that, just as we grow and change, our jobs usually do, too.

The fourth in a series of interviews with lawyers who have engineered careers that work for them is with a former lawyer who now works in a consultancy advising a range of clients—including governments and intergovernmental organisations—on issues related to labour law. She describes her career trajectory and provides insights on what makes trained lawyers attractive candidates for non-legal positions, as well as some advice on how to make the transition.

Remote working and hybrid working remain at the forefront of every manager’s mind, and the remote working policies adopted in the wake of the pandemic will shape the landscape of the professional world for years to come.

For that reason, I reached out to Eliot Sherman, a professor at London Business School who is the author of one of the rare randomised studies that objectively assesses the impact of remote working.

In my latest interview with a lawyer who has created a rewarding career for herself, I spoke with a senior lawyer on the in-house legal team at an intergovernmental organisation (IGO) who shares her wisdom on what it takes to be a successful in-house lawyer, including the art of delegating and how to stay calm even when the pressure runs high.

The second in a series of interviews with lawyers who have engineered careers that work for them is with a professional support lawyer (PSL) in a top international firm. She shares her insights on the upsides and downsides of the role, the difference in culture between boutiques and multinational firms, and the keys for securing a PSL position and thriving in the role.

In the first in a series of interviews I’ll be doing with lawyers who have engineered careers that work for them, I speak with a lawyer who left a top global law firm to start up a thriving solo practice.