JD Bliss

Interview: Steve Zikman: From Lawyer to Travel Guru

Steve Zikman started out his legal career at the leading Canadian law firm of Goodman and Carr. After four years, he left the firm to fulfill his dream of setting out on a three-year, around-the-world journey. Zikman spent the first year in Africa, the second in Europe, and then headed to Asia. The journey was an incredibly powerful and transformative experience, and ultimately persuaded Zikman to change careers and become a writer focused on travel.

Zikman's first book was The Power of Travel: A Passport to Discovery, Adventure & Growth. It was a pioneering effort among global travel books in that it focused on travel as a means to finding perspective and balance in one’s life. Zikman has also co-authored the bestselling series titles, Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Nature Lover’s Soul, and even won a North American Travel Journalists Association Award. His most recent book is Doing Good for Goodness’ Sake.

Zikman's latest venture is The Next Fork - an effort to help others experience self-discovery and personal growth through travel revolving around particular concepts and themes for groups of 12 to 18 people. Zikman acts as the facilitator for group discussions and interactions during the trip.  One such program is called Journeys for Attorneys, which provides private trips to law firms searching for more effective and creative retention strategies, incentive/team building programs for summer students or associates, or innovative partners' retreats.

Click below to read Zikman's full profile.

Interview: Rosanne Pennella: From Litigation to Professional Photography

Rosanne Pennella started her career working with federal judges and then as a litigator for top firms. Then one day she received her first camera -- a Nikon N90s -- as a Christmas gift. A few years later she quit her job as an attorney, and with two N90s cameras and a bag of Nikkor lenses ranging from 20 to 200mm, she decided to pursue photography full time for five years and see if things worked out.

Readers will be happy to know that Pennella has achieved success in her new field -- for instance, on August 1, 2005, Nikon announced that it was honoring Pennella's work in its inspiring monthly, "Legends Behind the Lens."

For those interested in learning more about Pennella's work, we encourage you to visit her website. Among numerous shoots in exotic locales, Pennella has photographed the rainforest of Borneo, former headhunters of New Guinea, puja rituals on the Ganges River in India, cremation ceremonies in Bali, the mystical landscapes of China, villages in northern Thailand, tribal warriors in Kenya, as well as the cloud forest of Central America.

What is remarkable about Pennella's story is the rigorous approach she took to her career change - she spent considerable time analyzing her strengths and passions and how best to combine them into a satisfying career, while at the same time preparing her finances to support herself for five years while she learned her new craft.

Click below to read Pennella's interview.

Gender on Trial: Sexual Stereotypes and Work Life Balance in the Legal Workplace

Authored by employment attorney Holly English, Gender on Trial: Sexual Stereotypes and Work/Life Balance in the Legal Workplace, chronicles gender issues for lawyers based on interviews with nearly two hundred lawyers around the country – as well as psychologists, consultants and recruiters – on what life is really like for men and women who work shoulder-to-shoulder in legal workplaces.

Professor David Wilkins of Harvard Law School has stated that the book "effectively illuminates the complex stereotypes that continue to define women's advancement in the workplace . . . and is destined to be an important resource for law students, practitioners, and scholars."

Price: $34.36

Billable Hours and Collection Averages for Solo Attorneys

For those attorneys contemplating a move to solo practice, click here to read an interesting thread on the American Bar Associations SOLOsez forum (for solo practitioners) discussing how much of a typical solo practitioner's time spent at the office each day is billable. The discussion also stresses the importance of collections.

Telecommuting for Lawyers

Telecommuting for Lawyers explains how to implement a successful telecommuting program that leads to increased productivity, improved work product, higher revenues, lower overhead costs, improved communications with clients, better recruitment, and a less-stressful work environment.

Among other topics, the book covers:

• developing policies and telecommuter authorizations
• training future telecommuters
• budgeting and saving on overhead expenses
• making telework inviting and familiar
• designing the monitor process
• choosing the appropriate tools

Price: $49.95

Why Lawyers Should Eat Bananas

Are you a lawyer who is:

• working long and exhausting hours?
• busting a gut over unprofitable clients?
• wishing there were 30 hours in a day?
• suffering unhealthy stress levels?
• not devoting enough time to your family and friends?

This groundbreaking book offers 101 practical ideas to help you rejuvenate your legal career while taking back control of your life.

Price: $16.96