Explore Lawyer Well-Being Week, May 3rd, for the Answers
Lawyer Well-Being and Legal Ethics
The answer to the question falls into the category of “everything.” Why? It has been well-documented that not only does the legal profession suffer a disproportionately high statistical evidence of stress, depression, suicide, substance abuse, and other mental well-being challenges, but also that these conditions often result in conduct that crosses ethical lines thereby resulting in disciplinary action and career damage. (See some of our prior related coverage here and here.)
Where’s the evidence? The answer to that question falls into the category of “everywhere.”
More specifically, the evidence is embodied in the 2017 report of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. The Task Force Report emanated from a 2016 meeting among the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (“APRL”), The ABA Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs (“COLAP”), and the National Organization of Bar Counsel (“NOBC”).
The concerns of those organizations makes sense—the organizations are comprised of lawyers who defend lawyers (APRL), assist lawyers with mental health issues (CoLAP), and those that prosecute lawyers’ disciplinary violations (NOBC). The meeting became a catalyst for others to join the effort, eventually becoming the task force that generated the report.
Since the 2017 Report, many state bars, local bar organizations, law firms, and other legal offices and organizations have taken significant steps to incorporate well-being initiatives into the culture of the legal profession. The pandemic has brought additional focus on well-being as everyone has suffered under the stresses of the impact of COVID-19.
One national initiative, Lawyer Well-Being Week, commenced in May 2020 and is returning this week. It is sponsored this year by an organization that reflects the progress of 2016 discussion—The Institute for Well-Being in Law, formed in December 2020 to work as a permanent model for well-being. Its mission statement:
The Institute for Well-Being in Law (IWIL) is dedicated to the betterment of the legal profession by focusing on a holistic approach to well-being. Through advocacy, research, education, technical and resource support, and stakeholders’ partnerships, we are driven to lead a culture shift in law to establish health and well-being as core centerpieces of professional success.
The Institute’s Board Members are a group of awesome, highly engaged professionals whose determination will surely make a difference. The IWIL website has incredible general information and resources geared to various types and sizes of organizations. IWIL also has wonderful programming this week—take a look here and join their well-being movement.
Even just a small change in conduct, communication, and caring can contribute to a shift to a more profound and professional culture of well-being in the legal profession. And…no doubt, with increased well-being, more lawyers will be able to more readily identify, analyze, and appropriately respond to the intrinsic ethical challenges that they confront in the practice of law. Take a wellness break and check out Institute for Lawyer Well-Being today.
