The Wellness Esquire Podcast

Join me, Ariella Cohen Coleman, as I explore a bold new path where wellbeing, happiness, and authenticity drive performance and success. On The Wellness Esquire Podcast , I have honest, vulnerable conversations with attorneys and thought leaders about what it really takes to thrive in law - mentally, emotionally, and professionally. We cover the things people are often afraid or embarrassed to talk about: anxiety, burnout, addiction, imposter syndrome, misery, anger, alcohol, depression, health challenges, loss, mistakes, and the realities of legal culture. Each episode blends personal storytelling with practical insights to help lawyers and other high-performing professionals build careers that energize rather than exhaust. Subscribe for weekly Wellness Wednesday episodes and join the movement toward a healthier, more fulfilling way to work and live.

The Wellness Esquire Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Ariella Cohen Coleman, with 39 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Ariella Cohen Coleman hosts The Wellness Esquire Podcast, a business show with 39 episodes published.

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  The Wellness Esquire Podcast

  Perfectionism Isn't a Flaw: Why I Stopped Being a "Recovering Perfectionist"

  Sep 30, 202637 min

  Perfectionism isn't something lawyers need to recover from. It's something we need to get better at. In this solo episode, I get honest about my own perfectionism: the decades I spent beating myself up for tiny mistakes, the podcast (this one) that I kept not launching, and why calling myself a "recovering perfectionist" quietly dulled my sparkle. I spent most of my life as a maladaptive perfectionist, and I didn't have the language for it until I read my all-time favorite book, The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler . I share what shifted when I started seeing perfectionism as part of who I am, something to aim in a healthy direction, not remove. I also talk about hiring a friend to press publish on the podcast because I couldn't do it myself, learning to surf this year and being objectively not good at it (and loving it!!), and why you can absolutely burn out doing work you love. In this episode: Maladaptive vs. adaptive perfectionism, and why the difference changes everything Why "if you can't face a mistake, you can't learn from it" How treating everything like a lab (throwing spaghetti at the wall) made me a better attorney Why I quit calling myself a recovering perfectionist Excelling on your own values, not someone else's Work-life integration, and why loving your work doesn't make you burnout-proof A community challenge: the one thing you've been scared to do Mentioned in this episode: The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler [book link], and Whitney Harper of Advos Legal . Tell me the one thing you've been scared to do and are going to do anyway: ariella@thewellnessesquire.com , or find me on LinkedIn and Instagram ( @ariellacohencoleman , @thewellnessesquire ). New episodes on Wellness Wednesdays! Follow and subscribe to The Wellness Esquire, and send this one to a lawyer who needs it. We'd love to hear from you through Fan Mail! Host Info: Ariella Cohen Coleman The Wellness Esquire : a bold new path where wellbeing, happiness, and authenticity drive performance and success. Ariella Law, PC : strategic legal support for entrepreneurs, growing companies, and mission-driven organizations — formation, contracts, compliance, and fractional general counsel, delivered project-based or by subscription. https://ariellaw.com/ Follow Ariella: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellacoleman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariellacohencoleman/ Website: https://ariellacohencoleman.com/ Connect & Explore: Website: https://thewellnessesquire.com Substack: https://thewellnessesquire.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewellnessesquire/ Support & Sponsors Superhuman: email, faster. Get one month free: https://superhuman.com/refer/m2lsb84w Thank you for listeni...

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  Harassed by the Judge She Clerked For: Aliza Shatzman on Fighting Back

  Sep 2, 202642 min

  Law clerk harassment is one of the legal profession's best-kept secrets, and Aliza Shatzman lived it. A federal judge harassed her, fired her, and then torpedoed her dream job as a homicide prosecutor with a single negative reference she was never allowed to see. Then she found out she couldn't sue him, because 30,000 people who work for the federal courts have no protection under Title VII. I have my own (much less dramatic) version of this story, from a networking event my 1L year, so this conversation went straight to the thing so many of us carry quietly: you feel a power imbalance, you feel confused and alone, and you have no idea who to tell and what to do. Aliza's answer is bracing and hopeful. You have more power and agency than you think, and using your powerful voice is what makes it better for everyone who comes after you. In this episode: - What actually rises to the level of harassment, and why "it's just a bad fit" is a lie you don't have to accept - Why filing a formal complaint is the single best way to protect yourself from retaliation - The power dynamic that makes law students, clerks, and junior associates most vulnerable, and how to navigate it - How Aliza turned the worst moment of her career into the Legal Accountability Project - The internal reporting channels that exist, and which ones are actually HR for the judiciary In this episode: 00:00 The 1L networking story that started this 05:53 What drew Aliza to law school 07:11 The clerkship that changed everything 10:26 The negative reference that cost her the dream job 12:19 Why 30,000 court employees have no Title VII protection 16:07 You are not powerless: your voice is your power 18:11 Glassdoor for Judges and the daily work of accountability 22:47 What actually counts as harassment 30:38 Your real options: EDR, DWR, and formal complaints 32:57 Retaliation, and why a written record protects you 39:41 Building a life and a career on her own terms About Aliza: Aliza Shatzman is an attorney, advocate, and the President and Founder of the Legal Accountability Project, a nonprofit working to ensure law clerks have positive clerkship experiences and extending accountability to a judiciary that has long operated without it. Links: Legal Accountability Project: https://www.legalaccountabilityproject.org/ Aliza on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliza-shatzman-58b55223/ LAP on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelegalaccountabilityproject/ New episodes weekly. If you're a lawyer who has ever felt this, you're not alone. Follow The Wellness Esquire so you never miss an episode! We'd love to hear from you through Fan Mail! Host Info: Ariella Cohen Coleman The Wellness Esquire : a bold new path where wellbeing, happiness, and authenticity drive performance and success. Ariella Law, PC : strategic legal support for entrepreneurs, growing companies, and mission-driven organizations — formation, contracts, compliance, and fractional general counsel, delivered project-based or by subscription. https://ariellaw.com/ Follow Ariella: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellacoleman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariellacohencoleman/ Website: https://ariellacohencoleman.com/ Connect & Explore: Website: https://thewellnessesquire.com Substack: https://thewellnessesquire.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewellnessesquire/ Support & Sponsors Superhuman: email, faster. Get one month free: https://superhuman.com/refer/m2lsb84w Thank you for listeni...

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  Why So Many Successful Lawyers Feel Like Nothing Inside: David Sazant on Self-Worth and Identity

  Aug 26, 202655 min

  You can look like you have it all together, everything tied up in a beautiful little bow, and still feel like a fraud on the inside. David Sazant, a former litigator turned therapist for lawyers, says that gap is one of the most common things his clients are too ashamed to say out loud. We talk about why so much lawyer anxiety, imposter syndrome, even anger is really about self-worth, and why the self-worth we build on other people's approval never holds. So much of this, for David, comes back to identity, to who we are and who we know ourselves to be. If you think you're the only one who struggles with these feelings, David and I promise you, you're not. In this episode: - Why so many high-achieving lawyers feel like frauds no matter what they accomplish - Why self-worth built on other people's approval never holds, and how to start internalizing your own - The difference between "I am anxious" and "I'm experiencing anxiety," and why it changes everything - Why anger is so often just not feeling good enough wearing a different face - Why saying the hard thing out loud is where connection starts, not where your credibility ends About David: David Sazant is a former litigator turned therapist and the founder of Pursuit Counseling and Therapy, a practice serving men, many of them Ontario-based lawyers and other high-performing professionals. Connect with David at Pursuit Counseling New episodes weekly! If you're a lawyer who has ever felt this, you're not alone. Follow The Wellness Esquire so you never miss an episode. We'd love to hear from you through Fan Mail! Host Info: Ariella Cohen Coleman The Wellness Esquire : a bold new path where wellbeing, happiness, and authenticity drive performance and success. Ariella Law, PC : strategic legal support for entrepreneurs, growing companies, and mission-driven organizations — formation, contracts, compliance, and fractional general counsel, delivered project-based or by subscription. https://ariellaw.com/ Follow Ariella: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellacoleman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariellacohencoleman/ Website: https://ariellacohencoleman.com/ Connect & Explore: Website: https://thewellnessesquire.com Substack: https://thewellnessesquire.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewellnessesquire/ Support & Sponsors Superhuman: email, faster. Get one month free: https://superhuman.com/refer/m2lsb84w Thank you for listeni...

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  How to Be a Happy Lawyer in Six Minutes a Day, with Jennifer Gillman

  Aug 19, 202655 min

  You do not have to choose between being a successful lawyer and a happy one, and you do not have to wait for some future season to be both. Unraveling that false narrative is what Jennifer Gillman does with her clients. She's a lawyer turned recruiter for rainmakers, and she says the craziest thing: taking care of yourself and aligning your work with your values isn't the reward you get once you make it. It's how you get to be successful and happy at the same time. In this episode: - Why your fourteenth draft at 3am is making the brief worse, not better - The lie that you have to be miserable now to earn your happiness later - Why the "wrong firm" is almost never a bad lawyer or a bad firm, just a bad match - How to see your own situation clearly when you can't read the label from inside the bottle - Why it's never too late, even at 50 with no book of business Chapters: 00:00 Meeting Jennifer 04:35 From a family of lawyers to leaving practice 08:31 The accidental pivot into recruiting 13:15 Starting her own firm and betting on lawyer happiness 15:59 The Six Pillars of a happy rainmaker 16:02 Pillar 1: Care for yourself 21:22 The "point one" method: six-minute change 24:50 Pillar 2: Build business 26:50 Pillars 3 to 6: Boundaries, planning, learning, legacy 29:56 What it's actually like to work with Jennifer 38:39 Ariella's concussion and the gift of boredom 43:41 The results: more free time AND more money 50:05 Fear, risk, and reading the label from inside the bottle 53:57 One magic-wand change for the legal industry 57:08 It's never too late About Jennifer: Jennifer Gillman is the President and Founder of Gillman Strategic Group, a legal recruiting firm where she helps successful partners and rainmakers with portable business find the perfect fit at another firm, which can make a dramatic difference in their career and personal satisfaction. Her superpower is being able to tell in 15 minutes whether a law firm partner would be happier changing firms or if their current firm is the best fit. After practicing law herself for 12 years, Jennifer built her work around a simple belief: successful lawyers should be happy, too. Links: Jennifer Gillman: https://gillmanstrategicgroup.com/ | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-gillman-law-firm-matchmaker / | Jennifer's book, The Happy Rainmaker: https://gillmanstrategicgroup.com/the-happy-rainmaker/ New episodes weekly. If you're a lawyer who has ever felt this, you're not alone. Follow and subscribe to The Wellness Esquire so you never miss an episode. We'd love to hear from you through Fan Mail! Host Info: Ariella Cohen Coleman The Wellness Esquire : a bold new path where wellbeing, happiness, and authenticity drive performance and success. Ariella Law, PC : strategic legal support for entrepreneurs, growing companies, and mission-driven organizations — formation, contracts, compliance, and fractional general counsel, delivered project-based or by subscription. https://ariellaw.com/ Follow Ariella: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellacoleman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariellacohencoleman/ Website: https://ariellacohencoleman.com/ Connect & Explore: Website: https://thewellnessesquire.com Substack: https://thewellnessesquire.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewellnessesquire/ Support & Sponsors Superhuman: email, faster. Get one month free: https://superhuman.com/refer/m2lsb84w Thank you for listeni...

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  She Made Her World Smaller and Smaller to Survive Law. Then She Found the Happy Lawyers. | Emily Long

  Aug 12, 20261h 8m

  On this episode of The Wellness Esquire Podcast , host Ariella Cohen Coleman sits down with Emily Long, a former prosecutor turned solo firm founder who knew she was going to be a lawyer at nine years old. Emily got the exact career she pictured: law school at 20, practicing by 23, in court every single day as a prosecutor. What she did not expect was how heavy it would feel, or that she had been carrying a lifelong anxiety she had never even named. To cope, she got very good at control, until she realized she had quietly shrunk her whole world down to a box she could manage. This is the story of how she found her way out, found the secret group of happy lawyers, and is now building a firm on her own terms. Emily Long is the founder of Long Legal PLLC , a business law firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida. A Florida native and sixth-generation entrepreneur, Emily works as fractional general counsel and business counsel for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits, supporting them from vision through launch to growth. Her practice spans business formation, contract analysis and development, and nonprofit formation and governance, built on a more modern and personalized approach to legal support than the traditional firm model. The firm's roseate spoonbill logo, inspired by the birds Emily grew up around while kayaking in Florida, reflects her philosophy of whole-business health and building foundations that let people and businesses flourish. Learn more at longlegalfl.com , connect with Emily on LinkedIn , or follow her on Instagram . We'd love to hear from you through Fan Mail! Host Info: Ariella Cohen Coleman The Wellness Esquire : a bold new path where wellbeing, happiness, and authenticity drive performance and success. Ariella Law, PC : strategic legal support for entrepreneurs, growing companies, and mission-driven organizations — formation, contracts, compliance, and fractional general counsel, delivered project-based or by subscription. https://ariellaw.com/ Follow Ariella: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellacoleman/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariellacohencoleman/ Website: https://ariellacohencoleman.com/ Connect & Explore: Website: https://thewellnessesquire.com Substack: https://thewellnessesquire.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewellnessesquire/ Support & Sponsors Superhuman: email, faster. Get one month free: https://superhuman.com/refer/m2lsb84w Thank you for listeni...

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