10:30AM-11:30AM PT/ 12:30PM-1:30PM CT/ 1:30PM-2:30PM ET/ 6:30PM-7:30PM GMT
The Mindfulness in Law Group, based in the UK, sponsors free monthly talks to which MILS members and friends are warmly invited.
The legal profession has historically been reluctant to talk about mental wellbeing within the profession. It was not considered an appropriate subject of conversation. It was deemed to be a personal matter. Any attempt to discuss our individual experiences of stress and anxiety (and the emotional difficulties attached) went against the whole idea of lawyers as analytical, detached and professional. As a result, lawyers have dealt with the increasing pressures of the workplace without any training in how to support their own and their colleagues’ mental wellbeing. Young lawyers in particular remain reluctant to discuss the issue due to the fear of its impact on their careers and the stigma attached to mental “illness”.
Discussions on mental wellbeing at an institutional level (law schools, law firms, bar associations) have also traditionally been considered to be inappropriate. Results from a recent IBA Presidential Taskforce Survey on attorney mental wellbeing highlighted the failure of law firms generally to provide effective support to their lawyers in relation to mental wellbeing issues. However, a significant improvement in the wellbeing of the lawyers can be achieved where effective support is provided.
The presentation by Chris Owen looks at the growing awareness (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic) of the importance of mental wellbeing within the profession - both at an individual and institutional level. From an individual perspective, we need to invest time and effort on a daily basis to support our own mental “fitness” and to create our own realistic mental fitness goals.
Topics discussed in the presentation include:
1. What is mental fitness and how can we cultivate it?
2. Building an effective response to the over-stimulated, digitalised and high intensity workplace in which so many lawyers work.
3. The importance of recognising our essential interconnectedness and interdependence with each other.
4. The need to “make friends” with our emotions (especially the negative ones).
5. How we can build an emotionally healthy lifestyle that encourages a positive engagement with life.
Register for the event HERE.