Partner Jeannette Boot co-authors an article about lawyer well-being in The National Association for Law Placement's PD Quarterly.
Excerpt: PD professionals can play a leadership role in the transformation of legal culture by following these practical suggestions for implementing wellbeing policies and practices in the law firm environment.
In the mid-1880s it was discovered that mortality rates were significantly reduced when doctors washed their hands before performing a medical procedure. Incredibly, it took one hundred years from this discovery before a standardized protocol for handwashing was created. It is no secret that law firm culture and expectations can compromise health and wellbeing, and we are now formally on notice that a serious wellness problem exists in our profession. How long will it take before consistent and accessible strategies to ensure lawyer well-being are woven into the fabric of our firms as standard protocol?
In 2016, two significant studies on well-being in the legal profession were published, leading a former ABA president to remark: "Lawyers, judges and law students are faced with an increasingly competitive and stressful profession. Studies show that substance use, addiction and mental disorders, including depression and thoughts of suicide—often unrecognized—are at shockingly high rates." (David R. Brink, cited in the cover letter to The Path to Lawyer Well-Being Report)
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