Hi! I am Clarissa Rayward, a wife, mum and divorce lawyer who runs a busy practice in sunny Brisbane Australia. I love what I do (most of the time) and generally describe myself as a happy lawyer. 

But it wasn’t always this way and over the past few years I have had to work hard to find a way to be a ‘happy lawyer’! 

It all started one Saturday night when I decided to start a blog- The Happy Family Lawyer. At the time I wasn’t that happy- I had started to lose some of my passion and drive and was struggling with my life as a lawyer. That night I made a decision- I knew I wanted to be a lawyer and it was time for me to find a way to make sure I could be happy at the same time. Little did I know that the decision that night to start sharing my thoughts on life, love and divorce would be the beginning of me finding my own happiness in law and in life.

And so, 3 years later I am turning my attention to the lawyers around me. Unhappiness in our profession is rife in our industry and the statistics are now overwhelming. The incidence of mental health problems within the legal profession is two to three times that within the general population. Being a lawyer, working in law and loving the many lawyers that are my friends I have come to accept that this career comes with ups and downs, highs and lows, successes and lessons. But find me a career that doesn’t. I think we put too much pressure on ourselves, our jobs, our employers and sometimes even our relationships to make us happy when really it is up to us. ‘Happy Lawyer, Happy Life’ is a community where we can share the challenges of being a lawyer while opening a positive dialogue about happiness in law and life. 

I am hoping that by sharing my own experience as a lawyer and those of many I know we can all find a way to ensure that great lawyers stay in law.

And so- welcome to ‘Happy Lawyer, Happy Life’! This pursuit has enabled me to develop four key resources- “The Podcast”, The Book”, “The Course” and “The Club” which enable lawyers to access not only my learnings, but to hear from a range of experts across our field about how they have overcome their own ‘unhappiness’, and lived a happy life while building a career they love. 

So welcome, I am looking forward to learning, sharing and hearing from you as we open up a positive dialogue about happiness in law and in life.

Clarissa Rayward.