Hi,

Welcome to With Less - a weekly newsletter dedicated to helping legal creatively do more with less.

I am intrigued by the concept of mindful productivity, which is being consciously present in what you’re doing, while you’re doing it, in combination with managing your mental and emotional states. Mindful productivity is the opposite of being on autopilot and not being aware or paying attention to our bodies and our surroundings.

Mindful productivity is a matter being present and intentionally aware of what is happening inside and around us and bringing self-compassion as we move navigate our day. In doing so, we will be more productive, more creative, and overall will enjoy work better. Sign me up!

Have a look at this article if you’re curious about incorporating mindful productivity into your day, especially while working from home.

I’d love to know your thoughts about mindful productivity. Reply to this email to share them with me.

Have a great rest of the week,

Marty

Here are the articles, tips, think pieces, and other reads I want to share with you this week.

Webinars & Online Events

• Feb. 9 @ 1:00 pm EST: Document Review in 2022: Evolve Your Tech or Be Left Behind. (Exterro)
• Feb. 9 @ 2:00 pm EST: The State of Legal Technology 2021: What In-House Counsel Needs to Know. (Exterro)
  
• Feb. 10 @ 10:00 am EST: AI on the battlefield: contract review with Loio vs. manual review. (Loio)
• Feb. 10 @ 2:00 pm EST: Navigate regulatory changes and improve contract compliance with AI. (Evisort)
• Feb. 22 @ 10:00 am EST:  Gartner Top Legal and Compliance Tech Predictions for 2022 and Beyond. (Gartner)

Substantive News & Insights

• Forget wrongful dismissal: 'Wrongful resignation' is an employment law trend to watch in 2022. (via National Post)
• BC Court of Appeal interprets the meaning of “commercially reasonable best efforts” in obtaining regulatory approval. (via McCarthy Tetrault)
• A recent High Court decision shows that whether or not a material adverse change clause will be found to be triggered by Covid-19 is a highly fact-dependent question. (via Herbert Smith Freehills)
• Trade secrets: The unsung hero of IP strategy. (via BLG)
• Explainer: employer compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act . (via RDM)
• Uniform Law Commission proposes “reasonable” uniform personal data protection legislation for state-by-state adoption. (via Sidley)
• A guide to the top retail issues for 2022. (via Steptoe)
• Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act proposed in New York. (via Squire Patton Boggs)
• California Privacy Rights Act for Employers’ new “notice at collection” California employers must distribute to the workforce. (via Littler)

In-house

• Three tips to save time in your next board meeting. (viaLaw Matters)
• Five tips to keep your business off regulators’ radars during supply chain and other economic disruptions, (via Cozens O'Connor)
• Seven cyber security tips for in-house lawyers. (via Lawcadia)
• Five questions GCs should ask to improve their company's cybersecurity. (via Phelps Dunbar)
• Cyber insurance is crucial – but not easy to sign! (via SKW Schwarz)
• How companies can make environmental commitments that reduce business risk while saving money and the planet. (via Husch Blackwell)
• What to do when your U.S.-based franchisee files for bankruptcy? (via Stark & Stark)

Legal Ops & Legal Tech

• How legal operations enables legal at Heineken. (via Juro)
• The lifecycle of a contract. (via Colin Levy's Notes on Legal Tech)
• Ten things in eDiscovery you don’t want to see. (via eDiscovery Today)
• What do atomic habits mean for legal project management? (via LawVision)
• Contract management system vendor sued over alleged failings of CMS implementation. (via Artificial Lawyer)

Lawyers & Lawyering

• ‘Toxic work culture’ impacting productivity, say half of legal workers. (via Legal Cheek)
• Should lawyers consider a side hustle? (via Attorney at Work)
• In this podcast episode, Karen Kerrigan, COO at Moneybox, shares how she made the switch from law to operations. (via The Crafty Show podcast)

Creative & Thinking

• Get started with color psychology with this online course. Learn the importance of color, its powerful effect on our emotions, and how our color perceptions change by culture and location.
• A recent study compared how gender gaps in math and reading change when children are in school versus out (in the summer) among over 900,000 U.S. children. The study found that girls learn faster than boys when school is out, but this advantage is gone when school is in session. (via Sociology of Education)

Work

• How I learned to find work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. (via ABA Journal)
• Struggle with procrastination? Try this simple trick of leveraging time to create discipline. (via BetterHumans)

Life

• Could a ‘fun-tervention’ improve my life – in just one month? (via The Guardian)
• When I choose my coffee mug, I’m choosing what kind of day I want to have. (via the Globe & Mail)

Balance

• Australia to spend a record $35 million to protect koalas. (via CNN)
• Seven facts about black history month. (via Mental Floss)
• The Fall and Rise of Sourdough Culture Or: The birth of Sarah bat Natan and how she got me through lockdown. (via Paste Magazine)

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Until next week good readers.