Deliberate Wellness— How Legal Employers Can Promote Lawyer Well-Being Whether you run a small firm, are involved in any aspect of management of a larger firm, or are simply concerned about your professional colleagues, you should consider the well-being of the lawyers (and staff) on your team. The ABA Journal recently reported on a Bloomberg survey in which a significant number of lawyers—half of all lawyers and an even greater percentage of younger lawyers—acknowledged a significant decline in their well-being in the first part of 2021. See Survey Reports Decline in Lawyer Well-Being, ABA Journal, June 30, 2021. In a year already plagued by uncertainty and upheaval, those statistics command our concern. But equal emphasis should be placed on the effect such unhappiness can have on workplace morale and the retention of skilled team members. That survey suggests that all of us should be concerned, as one out of two lawyers are facing wellness challenges. On a national level, the American Bar Association recognized that lawyer well-being issues require prompt attention. It commissioned a National Task Force on Lawyer Well Being. That Task Force examined the issues in its comprehensive report, The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change. See https://bit.ly/3Bkmgdw (Well-Being Report). The Well-Being Report describes its core concern: To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer. Sadly, our profession is falling short when it comes to well-being. The two studies referenced above reveal that too many lawyers and law students experience chronic stress and high rates of depression and substance use. These findings are incompatible with a sustainable legal profession, and they raise troubling implications for many lawyers’ basic competence. This research suggests that the current state of lawyers’ health cannot support a profession dedicated to client service and is dependent on public trust. The Well-Being Report presents numerous helpful suggestions. It’s worthwhile reading for any lawyer who is seeking to promote—or even just understand—the broad range of factors that undermine well-being in the legal profession. Career Development & Wellness Columnists: Gerard G. Brew, McCarter & English, Four Gateway Center, 100 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ 07102; Jo Ann Engelhardt, JD, LL.M, AEP (Distinguished), Ocean Ridge, Florida.
The ABA and most state bar associations have focused on lawyer well-being through Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (COLAP)—mechanisms designed to enable lawyers to obtain assistance with wellness, mental health, and related concerns confidentially and promptly. The COLAP web pages present a host of resources for those who are encountering issues like mental health challenges—both for the affected lawyer and those around him. Meanwhile, the ABA has focused on the need to address wellness issues immediately, particularly in the current environment. The ABA House of Delegates adopted, at its Annual Meeting in August, two Resolutions proposed by the ABA Coordinating Group on Practice Forward. One of our own RPTE section members and leaders, Jo Ann Engelhardt, serves on that Group. The adopted Resolution 602 urges bar associations and legal employers, in connection with a safe return to the workplace, to develop and implement policies and practices that address the COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impact on people of color, women, individuals with disabilities, individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, caregivers, and seniors. Resolution 603 encourages bar associations and legal employers to develop, disseminate, and provide guidance and resources to assist with the implementation of policies and best practices for the safe and effective return to the workplace as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, you can access the Practice Forward site, which offers resources including CLEs, articles, checklists, and podcasts, to help lawyers and those who work in legal settings, to address the challenges of COVID, especially as we head towards the new normal. See https://www.americanbar.org/ initiatives/practice-forward/. With that background, let’s return to things that legal employers can do to address lawyer well-being concerns. These are steps that can be taken almost immediately and then implemented with a sustained emphasis to drive a cultural change in our profession and our legal organizations. The following is an excerpt from the Well-Being Report (edited for brevity and clarity and with footnotes omitted). The original of the full Well-Being Report, containing a host of recommendations for all aspects of the legal profession, can be found on the ABA website. Legal employers, meaning all entities that employ multiple practicing lawyers, can play a large role in contributing to lawyer well-being. While this is a broad and sizable group with considerable diversity, our recommendations apply
Published in Probate & Property, Volume 36, No 1 © 2022 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
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