The Atlanta Lawyer February / March 2019 | Page 20

Under Pressure: The Creation of a
Committee with a Cause
By Minerva A. Steele, Esq.
Jones, Steele, & Booth LLC
As a brand-new lawyer, I endured
endless CLE meetings the first
year after law school. At every
meeting, part of the curriculum
included a video about attorney
suicide. “How to Save a Life” 1
played in the background as sto-
ries were recounted about loved
ones lost to suicide in the pro-
fession. I remember having the
attitude, shared by most of my
1
Slade, Isaac, “How to
Save a Life” How to Save a Life,
Epic, 2005, track 1.
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February/March 2019
newly minted class members, that
the video was both cheesy and
depressing. “Why do they keep
showing this to us?”
Five years later, I get it. The pres-
sures of the profession weigh
heavily on my (relatively) young
shoulders. The first four years af-
ter law school I worked for a busy
plaintiff ’s practice, where my
hours were 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM,
mandatory. I handled hundreds
of cases by myself and rarely
talked to anyone who wasn’t a
lawyer about anything other than
work. A year and half ago I started
a firm with two partners, and the
stress only increased from there.
In addition to handling a heavy
case load and working long hours,
I am also an administrator, legal
secretary, paralegal, accountant,
and marketing guru rolled into
one. I also do a little lawyering
on the side.
That is my story. Many lawyers