AUSTIN CHARLES: FOUNDER AND CHAIR, MILS STUDENT DIVISION
MINDFUL LEADERS IN THE LAW: An Interview with Austin Charles
By Christopher J. Lhulier
Welcome to the Mindful Leaders in the Law interview series. Our goal, through this series, is not only to strengthen our community by sharing interesting conversations with some of the amazing individuals who make-up MILS. We hope, by spotlighting the paths and practices of others, to also inspire and empower our members to build their mindfulness practices in creative ways that are uniquely satisfying to them.
This month I caught up with Austin Charles, MILS advisory board member and founder and chair of the MILS student division. Austin offers a unique perspective on law and mindfulness because he has been a meditator and “yogi” for most of his life. He entered law school and the profession with the mindset and skills that many of us seek out only after we run head first into the stress and anxiety that often accompanies being a legal professional. We talked about his experiences with meditation as a kid, his motivation for teaching others and how his contemplative practices help him manage life as a lawyer in the BigLaw culture. I also asked him about the exciting changes that are happening at the Student Division and the plan to get more law students involved with MILS and mindfulness generally. Many thanks to Austin for sharing with the MILS community his unique path of integrating mindfulness and well-being practices into his life as an attorney.
Q: How old were you when you started practicing mindfulness?
A: Meditation was part of my life from an early age. My father was an early student of Jon Kabat Zin, and he began teaching mindfulness for Emergency Department doctors and nurses in the 80s. I can remember joining him on the cushion around age 6, but I did not pick up a formal practice until I found yoga and wing chun kung fu around age 12.
As I trained more in martial arts and yoga through high school, I became progressively more curious about the mechanics of it all. How does chi energy movement work? Is there something to prana that goes beyond the breath? These questions led me to double major in Asian Studies in History and to an extensive study of Ki Aikido in Tochigi, Japan.
Q: You are a certified yoga and meditation instructor and you speak to groups on mindfulness and related topics. When did you recognize that you wanted to share your experience and knowledge about the benefits of wellbeing with others?
A: The saying goes that people teach the practices they need to learn. As a kid I dealt with intermittent bouts of anxiety and even depression. Yoga, martial arts, and meditation helped me to shake those feelings loose and, in time, understand a way around them. I started teaching because I saw many of my friends and peers dealing with their own mental and emotional struggles and I knew contemplative practice could help.
Q: As someone who was first a “yogi” and then a lawyer, did you initially find the mentality and culture of law school and then the legal profession off-putting?
A: It’s true, the pressure and competition of both law school and corporate practice can feel rather antithetical to a life of reflection and contemplation. However, rather than finding the legal profession off putting, I tend to focus on the gratitude I feel for my meditation practices, because without these practices, I’m sure I would really feel out of alignment within the profession.
Q: Have you found ways to integrate your law and wellbeing practices?
A: Certainly, I think ideally the practices weave their way into every part of your life. Through meditation we learn to notice our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Over time we are able to parse out which feelings are the result of false narratives, lack of sleep, or legitimate concerns. At work I often catch myself frustrated with a colleague or an assignment with my mind chattering away some unhappy story. The practice allows me to notice this narrative, examine its foundations, or lack thereof, and consciously choose to shift my thoughts to ones of gratitude and positivity.
Q: Do you see any signs of a shift in the BigLaw culture to recognize the importance of legal professionals tending to their wellbeing as an integral part of their long term professional success?
A: There does seem to be a shift in big law towards accepting that Mindfulness can be helpful to reduce stress within the legal profession. It seems this shift in perspective is arising because law firms cannot ignore their retention issues across the industry. My hope is that introducing mindfulness or yoga opportunities for attorneys is the beginning of a larger conversation about balancing one’s personal and professional life. In short, mindfulness alone will not be able to cure what ails the legal profession.
Q: You are the founder and chair of the MILS student division (MILS-SD). Can you describe some of the changes that are happening at MILS-SD and the plan for getting more law students involved with MILS and mindfulness generally?
A: MILS-SD is entering a new and exciting phase. Going forward, MILS-SD exists to network and support individual students and student groups interested in mindfulness.
MILS-SD now offers consult calls to interested professors and students to provide advice on programming, messaging, resources and ways to sustain growth. Our team will also be available for drop in sessions to introduce mindfulness practice to student groups or provide guided meditations.
Our new Student Ambassador program will allow students to integrate more fully into our existing network of legal professionals. If desired, Student Ambassadors will have the chance to work one on one with board members to accomplish projects that fit the students’ passion. Students interested in marketing can launch a project on social media, those interested in finance can assist with the budget. The Student Ambassador program is built for students who want to dive deeper into the MILS community.
Generally our goal moving forward is to remove barriers to student involvement and promote opportunities for students to meaningfully connect with our community on all levels.
Q: What advice would you give young lawyers and law students who want to balance their career success with their overall physical, emotional and psychological well-being?
A: To the extent you are able, try to shift your perspective to see the long term view. You will not remember the specific brief you were working on or transaction you were preparing for, but you will remember the time spent with an elderly loved one or out on a hike by yourself. The legal work is important, but it’s not more important than your relationships and your mental space.