Any attorneys here with ADHD/ADD? I was recently diagnosed ADHD, but it was clear I had it my whole life. It did not materially hinder me until law school, and now it’s pretty debilitating as an associate. Since I have been medicated, some executive functioning has been better but it’s really hit or miss. Anyone have any success stories? Would in-house be easier to manage as there is less executive functioning (ie no timekeeping and billing)? I appreciate any response in advance. Thanks!

likehelpful
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at
Highlighted IconHIGHLIGHTED

Non-legally, I’d recommend therapy either one on one or group. Hell, if that’s too much subscribe to adhd groups on social media. The pertinent reason being there are THOUSANDS of things that an adhd addled “neurodivergent” brain does that is different than “neurotypical” brains. The more you learn the more power you have to offset the negative effects and leverage the positive effects.

likehelpful

@author: I’m intrigued on this explanation as to why I can’t put my laundry away 👀 def makes sense it’s my ADHD , but how do I fight against it? 😅

Also, just wanted to share, I’ve found a few resources for ADHD coaches for lawyers and ADHD coaches for white-collar professionals. I had an interview with one and it was pretty insightful. I def plan on hiring someone soon. Found them online and on IG. Feel free to DM if you want some names :)

I like to make a big, messy to do list that I add to throughout the week when I get emails and calls and also a clean, priority list every day. When my executive functioning is really bad, I number the small list and use a random number generator to give me a task to start with.

like

Great idea! Thanks!

Recent IconRecent

Haha this is the worst advice oh wow dont follow it.

But i have PERSONALLY FOUND that jumping into the fastest turnaround highest stress never pausing adrenaline practice really helps me always hit my work in the doing things zone not the do it in a month zone.

And a hand written scribbled to do list.

likehelpful

A1, I legit came here to say just this. I thought this was me until you said transactional. Face-paced commercial lit on this end. I am not productive at all without an urgent deadline. I try to occasionally fake myself out with an earlier arbitrary internal deadline, but, rarely works. It’s not for everyone and not ideal to most, but procrastination is my friend, in many ways😅 Partners routinely tell me I work great under pressure and my best work products are from fire drills. This is the reason. If I have too much time, I go in circles and get no where.

like

You have to find what works for you. I went from high volume litigation practice to transactional work and have had a very hard time adapting. For me having a huge pile of facts to go through put together helps me
Hyper focus. Also court deadlines are like built in time management planning

likehelpful

On litigation I deliberately handicapped myself by having my boss implement artificial deadlines for filings 2 days beforehand (it wasn’t related to adhd, but when I started the job we discussed protocols and policies and how the boss review would work and wrote it down, and I guaranteed that 2 working day pre-deadline)

likesmart

Ayoooooo

like

Get your medication right. Dosage and med. I have had success with Focalin. Too little doesn’t work obviously, but too much doesn’t either (though it can be euphoric).

Eliminate all distractions you can. Build habits for timekeeping. Beware of accidentally going down research rabbit holes.

Welcome to the club!

like

Feel free to check out this bowl as well: https://joinfishbowl.com/bowl_xkfqvyg7xx

like

Thank you!

Being in biglaw was good for me for two years but it did mentally wreck me in a way I didn’t realize as it was happening lol but now I’m at a boutique and I have an easier time managing my time without a sense of urgency?

like

The important thing is not to think of it one job at a time. Make sure you’re setting yourself up for opportunities to succeed long term. Biglaw looks impressive, but if you can’t handle it, you have to leave so if you want to go back later, you can!

I too have ADD and ADHD. Recently started taking meds for it. It didn’t hinder me through law school, but definitely struggling to maintain focus enough to hit biglaw billables.

I find that 3-things have really helped: (1) Try to get staffed on short-turn around assignments. The lingering deadline and amount of work that must get done by then usually keeps me engaged because I know I can’t put it off at all. The next couple are Apple-dependent haha so, apologies if there’s no android counterpart (though I assume there is): (2) Setting the Focus setting on my phone during work hours. It’s a new feature for iOS15 where you can set only certain apps and people to trigger notifications on your phone. Mine sets automatically when I’m at the office. It keeps my phone from giving me all them tinder noties that I can’t wait to look at as soon as they come across, while still allowing all my work contacts to get to me through my cellphone, and obviously, office phone; and (3) is AirPods (or any noise cancelling headphones, really). I find that with noise cancelling and music playing, it’s a lot easier to not get distracted by being back in the office — e.g., secretaries talking outside, people walking by, other computers pinging, printers, etc.

Hope some of this helps, mate.

like

That helps, thank you! I am very easily distracted by my phone so that will help me out. I appreciate your insight.

Had a really hard time as a law firm associate. I was a first year leaving for a clerkship at the beginning of the pandemic so it was easy to skate by with little work and drop the ball on what work I did have. I ended up going to public interest work earlier than expected. The worklife balance allows me to be implement checklists and other strategies to manage my executive dysfunction. I have time to get 8 hours of sleep and workout. Actually caring about my work helps with focus. I still feel a bit bummed that I couldn’t hack it as a law firm associate, but I’m working on self-compassion.

like

I struggle more In-house tbh

I’m about to make the move from big law transactional to in house and this is my fear. I know it’s going to be all good for a couple months when everything is new and stimulating but once I start getting comfortable it’s going to be missed deadline city over here. I just need a break from the overwhelming shifts between insane hyper focus where I ignore everything/everyone in life besides work when things are busy to utter exhaustion and guilt when they let up. Trying to work on balance and hoping that in-house gives me a better opportunity to put in place good systems but my god it’s difficult when everyday feels like a choose your own adventure book with 10000 possibilities

like

Check out the ADHD Law Bowl !

Will do, thank you!!

The phone is the bane of my working existence. I take breaks every 45-90 and that’s when I get 5 min of screen time. Otherwise the vibration, noise, light will steal my focus

Thank you for the response - Same here. I always have the urge to grab my phone. Once something is in my head, it is extremely hard to do anything else until I do that thing. Limiting phone interaction may help with that.

I’ve found it’s an asset to me in general corporate practice at a large firm. I get really bored easily on one project, so it’s good for me to have my hands on multiple projects. The hours I’m in “the zone” also aren’t necessarily typical working hours, so the unpredictable schedule works for me. I was so unproductive working in-house in an office…

There’s a podcast on Spotify called JDHD and another one called ADHD for Badass Women…both are lawyers with ADHD and I listen to those in the morning before work

Related Posts

any crossfitters here ?

I love the idea of crossfit...but I have a bad shoulder from years of swimming so I wonder if it’s a good idea...

Is anyone else stoked for the games coming out this fall? I hear "Call of Duty: Civil War 2" and "Military Encroachment Simulator 2021 South China Sea Edition" are gonna be sick. Not as sick as "COVID-19: Global Pandemic Management" was last season though

like

Looking for advice about workplace accommodations for mental health - calling all people with mental health issues and managers who have dealt w that. More info in comments

like

Any gay/queer history Taipei recommendations? Already planning on eating everything. 🇹🇼

like

31 weeks & finally getting around to selecting a breast pump. Hoping to both breastfeed and pump for bottle feeds. Heard great things things about spectra and medela? Any reviews from mummas who have used them?

like

I’ve noticed vaccine resistance among pet owners is growing and I’m starting to lose the will to educate people who are worried about “canine autism.” How hard do you try to inform the misinformed?

like

Has anyone been able to schedule a COVID test recently? Can’t find open slots anywhere until the 31st. Willing to drive anywhere in the DMV area.

like

Australia’s health department stated borders will most likely not open to international travelers at all this year and would most likely still require 2 weeks quarantine when they do next year. This was my one vacation I had planned right when covid hit and I was really hoping they’d open with vaccines so I could go in October, even March next year but even that seems an unlikely time to have a normal trip 🥺 i just really miss international travel

like

On the news, there was a report that "stress" causes negative health effects. Um. OK. Don't people feel "stress" just by being alive? Like, what would be the control group that you could measure the results against? I don't know why, but it always makes me wonder

like

Anyone know if PwC offers a discount to equinox Southport ct or any other way to get a discount

like

Rental investors - Any recommendations on insurance provider for purchasing Umbrella coverage (either personal or for LLC/commercial)?

like

Any idea about greenway health?

What is an appropriate response for a Partner to provide staff when they say they aren't as invested in follow-up requests (for a project that ended 2 months ago) because that project experience was horrible, resulting in a mental breakdown?

like

I see TSLA is up around 6% in pre-market today. WTF is going on? I literally don’t know if I should go back in or wait a while.

like

I recently developed an api which went through all the levels of testing before going to Prod. Now a Prod issue is found in the new API. Higher ups are accusing me of this.
Is this entirely my fault ?

like

Does anyone have any recommendations for fertility center or RE in Orange County?

like

Has anyone ever applied for FMLA and/or STD (Short Term Disability) and been rejected from either?

Created a gympass account and plan, let’s see how much I’ll actually use this 😆

like

I have about $260 left in my fitness fund, so I would be looking to get something around $350 to spend the whole thing. I want some heavy weights, possibly dumbbells 50lbs +. Any ideas where to get some? Any other ideas of things to use it on?

like

More Posts

Do you feel like your “wants” drive you to earn more or do you start to enjoy more expensive things because youI have the money now?

like

Hi all, I am new to this fishbowl. I am working with state Bank of India as a business analyst with 1 YOE looking for a transition to Consulting companies. Any guidance on the referrals and opportunities will be highly appreciated.

like

Anybody recently appeared for Google Cloud Platform - Associate Cloud Engineer certification?
Kindly help me with dumps if available.

like

Hello Fishes, I have an upcoming interview with Google for the post - Software Engineer, Back End. Could somebody help me out of what type of questions are expected in the first / second round? Google Google operations centre

like

Converted a Roth 401(k) to a Roth IRA. It included an employer match that was likely traditional. Will this cause pro rata issues in the future?

like

Hi guys, I need 11 likes to DM
Please help me out

likesmarthelpful

Hello! I’m currently a Administrative assistant now working at a major medical system in Baltimore. I’ve previously worked for 10 years as a medical assistant in a variety of specialties and primary care. Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit stuck as to my next step. Part of me want to go into management, another part is saying go get your RN, and the other is saying go into Social Work. I’m all over the place. Any ideas? And how would I be able to cross over to management?

like

Chewy TUMS: These look so good but its not clear to me if its halal. How do you determine from these ingredients? Especially when the first ingredient is alcohol ammonium which i know its not alcohol but any clarification on these ingredients would be appreciated!

like

Anyone here from Toronto? Going next weekend and looking for the best halal food recs out there!!

likesmart

Can you explain me which ABAP certificate I must take up and what do all of these mean? I'm new to ABAP.

Post Photo
like

How do you feel about getting homework for jobs?

We're altering our interview process to eliminate a homework assignment we give to candidates. It's about 2 hours of varying difficulty questions.

The VP wants to replace it with a 1 hour pair programming exercise because he thinks experienced candidates won't bother with homework. A lot of my experienced colleagues would be fine with the homework as long as it was within reason.

What's the consensus? Homework or nah?

like

Esperanza Rising Resources. Have you used this book in the classroom? Can you share your resources? This book has so much about culture, migration, geography, etc. I may use to teach with Social Studies. Share links, resources, Teacher Pay Teacher ideas, etc. Thanks In Advance

like

We need to keep this bowl afloat! Let’s start posting people!

like

Best city in US to live and work in consulting? Considering to move to the States from Eastern Europe

like

Any good audible book recommendations for latest AI tech or the global implications of AI?
I am a data scientist so I want to avoid those with too many platitudes.
I want to either broaden my...

like

Easiest online compsci masters?


Or people's experiences with them

like

Hello guys,

Need likes to enable DM.
Thanks in advance

like

Hello fishes ,
Looking for data analytics opportunities.
YOE - 6 months
Skills - strong in SQL and python and power bi


Please comment if there is opportunity

Are there any downsides to taking the GRE vs GMAT for b school? Even if schools don’t care, would employers? New to this

like

Looking to find housing in SF this summer beginning June 1 for 10 weeks. How does one find a place in SF for short term? It’s been a struggle so far with everyone I know at MBA...

Additional Posts in Millennials in Law

Okay. Possibly a stupid question BUT Imma ask anyway.

Can someone just explain how you plan out how much to bill so you can make sure it’s not a mad scramble at the end of year? I’m moving from a firm where I was lacking in any kind of mentorship. No one ever just sat down and explained the most efficient way to track/measure your hours to confirm that you are on track.

Is there just a secret excel spreadsheet that all lawyers have and I just missed the memo???

HELP.

like

I’ve been negotiating a settlement on behalf of a client. OP is a major corp. we’ve gone back and forth for months, almost a year. Finally came to a final agreement and we’re reviewing for final signature. Then client is reviewing and decides they want something else modified. It’s a point of contention. OP has said no. Should I communicate this to client before pushing back against OP’s rejection of the mod?

like

I’m a third-year associate licensed in 3 states and adding FL soon. Practice Family law 100% but really wanting to branch into general civil litigation in FL. Does anyone have tips on how to switch fields, especially out of Family? Things I should try to advertise about myself more than others? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

like