The Anxious Lawyer

As a practicing attorney, I know firsthand the challenges and the emotional toll the legal practice can take on lawyers. I've also experienced the enormous personal and professional impact of meditation and mindfulness. Throughout my legal career, first as a litigator and later as a bankruptcy lawyer, I regularly suffered from anxiety, stress, and insomnia. I always accepted this as the "norm" because attorneys commonly experience such difficulties. It took me years to even recognize that there was a problem. The process was very gradual but over the years I became less content with my legal practice and life in general. It is said that most people come to meditation because of suffering. I am certainly no exception. Regularly practicing mindfulness has helped me to be happier. I feel more grounded. I have fewer knee jerk reactions to the external events of life. It has allowed me to “stop and smell the roses” both literally and figuratively. Since going through the Stanford 8-week mindfulness training program, I have taken additional classes both at Stanford and other meditation centers around the Bay Area. I have completed the teacher training practicum for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Karen Gifford is co-author of The Anxious Lawyer. Previously, she worked as an attorney in the private sector and at the New York Fed, where she was Counsel and Officer in the litigation and enforcement group. Her work there included the successful defense of a claim by the Central Bank of Iran for over $1 billion and co-heading an investigation into misconduct in the sales and trading of leveraged derivatives at Bankers Trust. She later worked as a consultant at Promontory Financial Group, advising global banks and financial companies on regulatory issues and conducting investigations. She subsequently headed the compliance and regulatory relations functions for Ripple, Inc., where she continues to serve as Special Advisor for Global Regulatory Affairs. Karen is active in the start-up world as a founder, investor and advisor. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and an A.B. from Vassar College. Karen has studied and practiced meditation in a yogic tradition for more than 15 years. She began meditating in order to cope with the stresses of a demanding but rewarding legal practice when she was also juggling the responsibility of raising young children with a husband who traveled extensively for work. Over time, she came to view her meditation practice as not only a key support for her professional and personal development, but a means of deepening her understanding of herself, her values and the world around her. The financial crisis and its aftermath gave her an opportunity to observe in real time the importance of inner skills such as detachment and resilience for effective leadership. She is a columnist for the Huffington Post, where she writes on topics relating to meditation, leadership and the financial industry. She lives in Northern California with her husband.