Cleveland Jewish News
Attorneys find ways to make work-life balance work
By A. Kevin Corvo | November 18, 2025 | Andrew Zashin consulted and quoted
The work of a practicing attorney, unless he or she is retiring after a verdict or a settlement, is truly never complete.
There is always a call to return, an e-mail to open, a jury to impanel or a document to copy.
“Practicing law can become all-consuming if you allow it to happen,” Cleveland attorney-at-law Jake Weinberg said.
Weinberg, 37, and his wife, Lauren, reside in Solon and have two daughters and a son between the ages of 7 years and 6 months.
Weinberg, a member at McDonald Hopkins LLC in Cleveland, said spending time for his family “recharges” him and makes his a better attorney for his clients.
“It isn’t a 50-50 split every day (but) I carve time out of my schedule every day no matter what (for my family). If it means leaving work an hour early for soccer or a dance recital, that is what I do,” Weinberg, an attorney at McDonald Hopkins since 2013 after graduating from law school at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., said.
His undergraduate degree is from The Ohio State University in Columbus.
“My priority is my family, but it makes me a more productive and better attorney,” Weinberg said.
Weinberg said he and his colleagues are open about the importance of maintaining a work-and-family balance with each other both as colleagues and with clients.
Almost everyone understands the significance and need for such balance, Weinberg said.
In addition to family life, Weinberg said finding time for recreation, in his instance, golf, is another part of the balance.
“Having the perspective to maintain a balance between work and my life apart from it is important. I’m a better lawyer because of it,” Weinberg said.
Andrew Zashin, founder of Zashin Law in Mayfield Heights, concurs.
“People think the obsessive, the relentless and the indefatigable lawyer is the ideal,” Zashin said. “Not so. Time off allows a lawyer the time to reset. For some, that might mean regaining the energy to reclaim their best selves. Perhaps immersing oneself in a hobby and ‘checking out’ for a while creates a safe place. Many high-level professionals are also avid practitioners of something else. A reasonable break allows a lawyer to improve themselves and their practice.”
For Zashin, it is bonding with his 200-pound South African Mastiff, Hugo.
The breed is more commonly known as a Boerboel.
“For me, time with Hugo erases everything else. He resets everything because he is so needed and loving,” Zashin said. “All he wants to do is eat, love and play.”
Boerboels require more attention and recreation than other breeds, from both sides of the relationship.
“Hugo and I wrestle,” he said. “It requires absolute concentration, or he will (hurt) me by accident.”
Bred on farms in South Africa to fight large cats such as leopards, the breed is banned in some counties, such as Israel, because of their use in fighting.
In finding ways to reset, Zashin said each individual lawyer should consider the nature of their work and the rhythm of their schedule.
“This includes the needs of the client and the demands of their practice,” Zashin said.
Allowing a work schedule, whether imposed by the court, opposing counsel or other deadlines, can have a detrimental effect, according to Zashin.
Aside from the more obvious possibilities such as personal health threats, overworking can affect personal performance, he said.
“When lawyers are overworked, they are prone to mistakes (such as) inattention to client matters and professional sloppiness,” Zashin said.
Zashin has a Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University Law School in Cleveland and an undergraduate degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I.
He is a regular contributor to Newsweek Magazine and his expertise includes international family law. He also writes a monthly column for the Cleveland Jewish News.
A. Kevin Corvo is a freelance journalist.