Letter From the Chair

By Sabrina L. Green

Sabrina L. Green is a managing partner of Stratton & Green, ALC and focuses on labor & employment, complex business litigation. Besides being the Chair of the California Lawyers Association Solo and Small Firm executive committee, member of the CLA Board of Representatives, she is the Attorney Coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson School of Law Employee Rights Public Clinic, member of the executive committee for the Thomas Jefferson Alumni Board of Directors, Vice President of Executive Women’s Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Business Association of Southern California, San Diego. Sabrina can be reached at sgreen@sglawcorp.com.

It is officially Spring. Having gone through a pandemic and being on the other side of that uphill battle, this Spring feels different. Our world here in California is reopening and all the little things I used to take for granted, I have a new appreciation of now. Having been fully vaccinated, I and my family actually went out for a dinner, something we haven’t done in over a year. Mentally, just that small family affair made me feel genuinely good and very grateful my family came through this past year relatively unscathed.

This led me to think about the mental toll this pandemic has had on our collective and individual mental health. Since May is National Mental Health Awareness, I thought it appropriate that we recognize the impact that mental health and mental health issues have on us. Solo and small firm attorneys are often more isolated and cutoff than those of our brethren in the larger firms who have the opportunity to engage socially and professionally every day with their colleagues. This past year has been particularly difficult for many of us who have experienced the increased isolation and additional financial strain that came with the pandemic.