Washington Lawyer - May 2017 - 46

PARTNERS' PERSPECTIVE

HOW DO YOU BRING
WELLNESS INTO YOUR
WORK LIFE?
By Anna Stolley Persky

REBECCA GELLER
Geller Law Group

For mental wellness, my firm does two community
service days each year. During those days, we shut
down our office and we all volunteer. For our next
community service day, we will be serving a meal at
a homeless shelter. We believe that these days help
us center ourselves by giving back to the community.

Rebecca Geller

We also preserve our mental wellness by allowing
our attorneys great flexibility as far as working from
home. In addition, we push our attorneys to disconnect from email on the evenings and weekends.
We believe that evening and weekend work should
not be necessary. Many of our clients ask to have
meetings on weekends or evenings, and we are very
clear that we don't do that unless it is an emergency.

ALEXANDER J. PARK
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP

GARY THOMPSON
Reed Smith LLP

For years, I was a typical workaholic lawyer, rarely exercising. After
turning 40, I slowly prioritized my health, with the Lawyers Have
Heart 10K in the mix. When I had the least amount of time, during
a series of long, intense jury trials, I started to run regularly to clear
my head. I began to enjoy longer runs on weekends, almost as
a form of meditation.
I started noticing people my age running marathons and began
to think this might be possible. I always thought marathons
are only for super athletes, but learned that mere mortals are
welcome. So in 2010, at age 45, I slowly finished my first, the D.C.
Marine Corps Marathon. Now 51, I have run 15, combining them
with vacations in places like Rome, Iceland, Berlin, and Venice.
46 WASHINGTON LAWYER

MAY 2017

The body is meant to move. Lawyers sit around
way too long. That lifestyle is not healthy. I do road
and mountain biking, power yoga, CrossFit, power
lifting, body weights, etc. I also meditate to help
with focus. This keeps me physically healthy and
emotionally balanced.
Anna Stolley Persky is a regular contributor to
Washington Lawyer.
Read an expanded interview with
Geller. Also, Eric Zimmerman of
McDermott Will & Emery LLP offers his
perspective on wellness. Both articles
can be found at dcbar.org/news.

Alexander Park

Gary Thompson

My firm has a gym in the building, and we bring
in a yoga instructor two times a week to lead an
integrated yoga and meditation session. Our firm
has a consistent message to our stakeholders -
it is important to take time out to focus on your
wellness. By bringing in a yoga instructor, the firm
is taking action to stand by that message.

https://www.dcbar.org/about-the-bar/news/geller-law-group.cfm https://www.dcbar.org/about-the-bar/news/partners-perspective-eric-zimmerman.cfm https://www.dcbar.org/about-the-bar/news/geller-law-group.cfm https://www.dcbar.org/about-the-bar/news/partners-perspective-eric-zimmerman.cfm http://www.dcbar.org/news http://www.dcbar.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - May 2017