Work Peacefully
Free educational practices for steadiness and deliberate action.
Explore the libraryAbout Work Peacefully
Work Peacefully exists for the moment work follows you home.
I am Shaun Southworth—an employee rights attorney and mindfulness practitioner. I built this because legal protection and inner steadiness should not live in separate worlds.
I have been there in my own way
Hindsight called it a setback. My body thought it was the end.
After I moved to Atlanta, I was laid off through no fault of my own. I received a generous severance and still thought my life was over.
I felt anger, fear, shame, and guilt even though I had done nothing wrong. I worried I had wasted my education and would lose everything. With time, I could see the layoff in proportion. At the time, the panic was real.
That is why I will not tell you to “just calm down.” We start smaller: one breath, one fact, one call, and one next step.
In Shaun’s words
Why this work is personal
Shaun shares how losing his own job shaped his commitment to helping employees through difficult moments.
Find a practice for today
Video loads when you press play.Watch on YouTube
Read the transcript
Shaun Southworth · 0:03
My name is Shaun Southworth and I represent federal employees nationwide, worldwide, wherever they are. I grew up poor in a double-wide trailer. This concept that didn’t matter where I came from, what my background was, if I worked hard, I did the right thing, that I should be able to progress.
So when I graduated from law school in 2009, at graduation, I received the faculty award for labor and employment law. That’s when I really thought at that time, labor and employment is kind of an area that I’m very interested in. I moved out to Atlanta. After a few months, I lost my job due to no fault of my own because I was laid off. That experience of going through that really showed me personally how much it can impact someone when they lose their career due to no fault of their own.
One of the things I’m most proud of at Southworth PC is that I can have that direction to help make sure the rank and file federal employee is treated well in terms of representation, but also provided affordable representation that won’t break the bank.
1:18
When I founded this firm, it was founded out of, I can do this better and we need to treat our clients better. I passionately care about representing federal employees. I know what it’s like to go through an employment situation due to no fault of your own. And as CEO, I’m going to do my best to make sure our firm in the long term represents the rank and file federal employee in a cost effective and affordable manner, but in a way that promotes not only their individual rights, but also is committed to keeping the federal workforce informed as a whole.
I do not believe calm and accountability are opposites.
Employees are often strongest when the facts are clear, the timing is deliberate, and the next step is chosen rather than triggered. Mindfulness does not replace lawyering. It can help a person use legal help more strategically.
I began using conscious breathing not only in crises, but throughout the ordinary pressure of leading a law firm. The change was gradual: more patience, better focus, and fewer impulsive reactions. That experience shaped the practical tools here.
The bridge
Mindfulness can make standing up more deliberate—not less strong.
Why it is free
Help first. The ecosystem follows.
I want these practices to help whether or not you buy the book or ever hire my firm.
If one breath helps you avoid one message you would regret, or one writing prompt helps you see what happened more clearly, the work has value. The book is there when you want the longer sequence. The firm is there when your individual facts need legal judgment.
Clear lanes
Three resources. Three different jobs.
Shaun Southworth
The canonical biography, public ideas, media work, and personal story.
Meet ShaunSouthworth PC
A separate confidential intake for individual federal employment matters.
Get legal help