Lawyer Well-Being Week 2020 was celebrated from May 4th through May 8th — but it’s never too late to get the resources you need! Find more on physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, and emotional well-being.
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A post on our Mass LOMAP Blog directs here to our Well-Being Blog. Click here to return to Mass LOMAP.
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Lawyer Well-Being Week is organized by The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being — a group formed in 2016 in response to recent studies demonstrating alarming findings on lawyer well-being in the US. Its 2017 report, The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, outlined action steps for stakeholders across seven categories — encouraging all to build awareness for lawyer well-being.
LAWYER WELL-BEING IS CRITICAL YEAR-ROUND.
Our organization has been exclusively dedicated to lawyer well-being in Massachusetts throughout each year since 1978. Lawyer well-being is relevant year-round and the week of May 4, 2020 might not present the best timing for individuals or organizations to address well-being needs. Lawyer Well-Being Week is a great opportunity to raise awareness but isn’t designed to be a window for action. Our organization is here to help individuals and leaders in the Massachusetts legal profession respond to well-being needs on your timeline. Find more on how we support organizations here. Find more on scheduling a Free & Confidential consultation with a licensed therapist or law practice advisor here.
Some lawyers might not need or be ready for an individual consultation — but need more free and confidential resources, group support, programming, etc. to help find balance in such a challenging profession. To help our organization plan growth, we’ve created a survey for lawyers in the Massachusetts to identify interest in various types of needs categorized across personal & professional well-being, mental health generally, career development, and practice management.
SURVEY NOW OPEN! Lawyer Well-Being in Massachusetts: TELL US YOUR NEEDS HERE.
LAWYER WELL-BEING WEEK 2020: RESOURCES WHEN YOU NEED THEM.
A global pandemic and social lockdown is an apt time to focus on well-being — we’ll just have to wait until LWBW 2021 for the in-person activities. As a recent article by National Task Force member Patrick Krill points out, Law Firms Need to Say It’s Okay to Be Human Right Now. And it’s helpful for other stakeholders in the profession to send the same message.
Below are resources categorized into key elements of well-being. Access them in whatever way works for you — identify weak areas and tend to those immediately, or start your 5-day commitment to review and plan one category each day.
MONDAY: PHYSICAL Well-Being — STAY STRONG
TUESDAY: SPIRITUAL Well-Being — ALIGN
WEDNESDAY: CAREER & INTELLECTUAL Well-Being — ENGAGE & GROW
THURSDAY: SOCIAL Well-Being — CONNECT
FRIDAY: EMOTIONAL Well-Being — FEEL WELL
FOR LEADERS IN THE LEGAL COMMUNITY.
Institutions in the legal profession are key vehicles to increase awareness and action. Lawyers often fail to prioritize their own well-being, unaware of how actively we need to care for our mental health in challenging professions. Worse (but getting better) is the problem of stigma creating a barrier for some to acknowledge and act on the need for help. Find more on the ABA’s profession-wide anti-stigma campaign here. Beyond stigma, lawyers are often mistakenly concerned about how professional regulatory boards view the need for help with mental health. The Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers understand lawyers aren’t exceptions to the human condition, do not expect them to endure the challenges of the profession without care and treatment, and view help seeking behavior as a positive attribute. Most other states operate with similar understandings, but many haven’t been as clear as Massachusetts. For example, New York and other states have just recently removed questions about mental health from bar applications — and more still need to follow suit — find more here.
Our staff clinicians and practice advisors will be happy to contribute to any well-being programming you might want to organize. Whether immediately or for Lawyer Well-Being Week 2021, LCL | Mass LOMAP is here.
BAR ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP: We can help you advance well-being for your membership any time — find how here.
LEGAL EMPLOYER LEADERSHIP: We can help you advance lawyer well-being for your employees any time — (1) law firms here; (2) nonprofits here (3) state agencies here; (4) corporations here; and (5) all others here. Also, the ABA Working Group to Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession has developed a Well-Being Pledge for legal employers to sign, currently with 181 current signatories. Those that need it can find Harvard’s business case for healthy lawyers here.
JUDGES: Here’s how we can help you help those in your court.
LAW SCHOOLS: Here’s how we can help you help your students. We’ll be reaching out to law schools with a survey for student needs soon.
