November 20, 2023 – The Institute for Well-Being in Law (“IWIL”), a non-profit think tank dedicated to the betterment of the legal profession by focusing on a holistic approach to well-being, blasted a Fifth Circuit’s decision in Boudreaux v. La. State Bar Ass’n, No. 22-30564 (5th Cir. Nov. 13, 2023) The Court held that, as…
Nicole DeNamur (she/her), Owner, Sustainable Strategies PLLC Many law firm leaders are asking how they can “get people back to the office.” That question needs to be reframed to, “How can we draw people back?” Forcing employees to return to the office is not an effective strategy. The answer: Create office spaces where employees feel…
Bonus Content: Recommended Listening Professor Susan D. Carle and Professor Terry Davidson Professor Susan D. Carle, American University Washington College of Law Terry Davidson, Trone Family Eminent Scholar Chair in Neuroscience and Behavior, Department of Neuroscience, American University The holiday season brings an opportunity to consider the impact of diet on the brain. Professors Susan…
‘Tis the Season for Extra Stress: Reframing the Holiday Mindset By Jessie Spressart, Managing Director of Optia Consulting Jessie Spressart is the CEO of Optia Consulting, with the mission to help lawyers and law firms thrive in the 21st century. An experienced coach and facilitator, she focuses on intergenerational communication, management and leadership skills, and…
Harnessing the Power of Emotional Granularity: Specifically Labeling Your Difficult Emotions. Jarrett Green, Esq., M.A. Psychology, Lecturer in Law at USC Law School and UC Irvine School of Law Rebecca Simon Green, Esq., Wellness Champion, and Lecturer in Law at USC Law School and UC Irvine School of Law Jarrett Green, Esq., M.A., is a…
Beyond Self-Care: Applied Neuroscience Can Help You Reclaim Joy in Legal Practice By Kendra Brodin, Esq., MSW, Catherine Duncan MA, BCC., and Henry Emmons, MD Kendra Brodin, JD, MSW is Founder & CEO of EsquireWell, a legal well-being and professional development company providing speaking, consulting, coaching, and the online EsquireWell Academy. As a certified coach…
Creating Peace and Presence of Mind in Every Season By Robin Oaks, Esq., Denise Robinson, Esq., and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor Robin Oaks has been a licensed attorney for nearly forty years. For the past two decades her legal practice has focused exclusively on conducting independent workplace complaint investigations. As a law professor in California,…
Reframing Burnout Not only because it’s cited as one of the main causes of the Great Resignation, which may permanently reshape how we work, and not only because it’s widespread (can we ever use the metaphor of “epidemic” again?) across workplaces. We have to talk about burnout because we haven’t actually been talking about it this…
Tracy LaLonde, Chief Joychiever I recently attended a conference about attorney engagement and had many conversations about burnout. During one of those discussions, we pondered if the word ‘burnout’ has become overused to the extent that it is losing or has lost its impact. I certainly hope this isn’t the case. While many more people are…
Emily Knowles, Psychologist, Consultant and Researcher “The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” – Lily Tomlin ‘Burnout’ and ‘psychological safety’ are arguably two of the biggest exports from workplace psychology to enter the public lexicon from the Covid-era. Burnout is a long-established and deeply…
Henry Emmons, MD Catherine Duncan, MA, BCC We consider heartfulness a key quality to going beyond burnout and actually flourishing and building strong resilience. When you use heartfulness to build resilience, there is less room for something like stress and depression to seep back in. There is nothing more important in one’s lifetime than loving well. But…
Author: Paula Davis I burned out during what became the last year of my law practice. I have been studying burnout for more than 10 years, and I have spent many of those years talking to lawyers and legal professionals about the topic in one-to-one coaching sessions, training and workshops, interviews, and through my own…
Author: Ben Carpenter Ben is a Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at U.S. Bank. He leads a team of lawyers and legal professionals who provide legal support for U.S. Bank’s Consumer and Business Banking Division and is the Executive Sponsor of the U.S. Bank Law Division’s well-being program. Why is it such a…
The Institute for Well-Being in Law is pleased to announce the hiring of our inaugural executive director, Jennifer DiSanza. Jennifer spent the last two decades working with law students as a student affairs administrator and financial educator. She has worked at three different ABA-approved law schools and is passionate about well-being in the legal profession.…
Workplace Well-Being and All I Know So Far By Loretta Oleksy, Mindful Life and Work Coach, Thought Kitchen LLC July 1, 2022 It’s heartening to see more people recognizing that workplace culture is tied to employee well-being, and that promoting employee well-being is not only the right thing to do but also positively correlated with…
