IWIL Catalyst – May 2023 - Institute For Well-Being In Law

IWIL Catalyst – May 2023

Forest Bathing for Attorney Well-Being
By Brooke Mellen, Founder of Cultured Forest

Brooke Mellen founded Cultured Forest to share her passion for art and the outdoors. She advises individuals and corporations on connecting with nature for well-being and to promote biodiversity. Her background is in Risk Management, having worked at Sotheby’s, Marsh and W.R. Berkley, and she specializes in Art Business with a Masters in Visual Arts Administration from NYU. She is certified in Forest Medicine by the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine (INFOM).

Research confirms that spending time mindfully connecting with nature leads to marked improvement in physiological and mental health. Japan has long-developed a public health program called “Shinrin-Yoku” (“Forest Bathing” or “Taking in the Forest Atmosphere”) to respond to the crisis of worker burnout in densely populated cities. In Forest Bathing for Attorney Well-Being, Brooke Mellen (founder of Cultured Forest) explains what Forest Bathing is, how it benefits physiological and mental health, and provides a practical goal-setting guide to connect with nature.

Embodied Lawyering: How Somatic Practice Can Transform Our Beliefs, Behaviors, and Impact
By Lindsey Frischer (she/they), somatic coach and lawyer

Lindsey Frischer (she/they) is a lawyer and somatic coach working at the intersection of somatics and legal justice to help transform the legal profession to become embodied advocates in service of a more caring, equitable, and just legal system. Lindsey is a partner at Murmur Collaborative, delivering somatic coaching, consulting, and facilitation across the legal industry to support the well-being of legal professionals, and runs her own coaching and consulting practice offering somatic coaching for lawyers and change agents. Lindsey also practices as a pro bono attorney with Oasis Legal Services and the Immigration Justice Campaign representing the international LGTBQ+ community seeking asylum. She was a former corporate litigator at a Wall Street law firm in NY, representing high-profile government investigations of global financial institutions during the height of the financial crisis.

Lindsey is a committee member and organizer at Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Bay Area, where she also co-facilitates regular restorative justice circles. They serve as Secretary on the Board of Directors for Bay Area Green Tours. Lindsey loves playing recreational sports, practicing Aikido, and adventuring in nature with their rambunctious pup and pals.

The common working conditions of legal professionals – heavy caseloads, exposure to trauma, lack of time to process issues or give/get support, lack of autonomy, lack of respect – generate excessive pressure, stress, and overwhelm on our bodies. In Embodied Lawyering: How Somatic Practice Can Transform Our Beliefs, Behaviors, and Impact, Lindsey Frischer, somatic coach and lawyer, explains how somatic practice (body awareness) generates greater awareness, agency, and accountability to better care for ourselves and others; enhances alignment with our values, vision, and purpose; and helps transform the role of legal advocates to encourage a healing, equitable and just legal system.

We are so grateful to all of you – organizations and individuals – who participated last week (and some of you who have stretched it out past last week). A huge thank you and congrats to Tara Antonipillai, who along with many volunteers, made last week possible.

By the numbers:

886 Individuals Registered

240 Organizations Registered

264 Participation Challenge Registered (so far)

1878 Webinar Attendees

Here are some additional resources to keep you in the spirit of the week which you can use all year long.

1. You still have time to register for the Participation Challenge – the deadline is Friday, May 12th by 5:00 PM ET. Register for a chance to win some great prizes!

2. The Well-Being Week in Law website contains all the resources from last week.

3. IWIL’s YouTube channel includes all the webinars from last week.

4. Somatic Practice -The common working conditions of legal professionals – heavy caseloads, exposure to trauma, lack of time to process issues or give/get support, lack of autonomy, lack of respect – generate excessive pressure, stress, and overwhelm on our bodies. In Embodied Lawyering: How Somatic Practice Can Transform Our Beliefs, Behaviors, and Impact, Lindsey Frischer, somatic coach and lawyer, explains how somatic practice (body awareness) generates greater awareness, agency, and accountability to better care for ourselves and others; enhances alignment with our values, vision, and purpose; and helps transform the role of legal advocates to encourage a healing, equitable, and just legal system.

5. Forest Bathing- Research confirms that spending time mindfully connecting with nature leads to marked improvement in physiological and mental health. Japan has long- developed a public health program called “Shinrin-Yoku” (“Forest Bathing” or “Taking in the Forest Atmosphere”) to respond to the crisis of worker burnout in densely populated cities. In Forest Bathing for Attorney Well-Being, Brooke Mellen (founder of Cultured Forest) explains what Forest Bathing is, how it benefits physiological and mental health, and provides a practical goal-setting guide to connect with nature.

6. Sponsors

Canyon Ranch

Unmind

Legal blog – Band-Aids, boundaries & the stickiness of psychological safety: 7 highlights from Unmind’s ‘Optimizing Talent in Law’ webinar
Webinar – How to boost performance through well-being with Culture Amp – May 23, 2023, 2:00 PM ET
Optimizing Talent in Law Webinar with Kathleen Pearson, Chief Human Resources Officer at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman LLP, and James Keshavarz, Chief Wellness Officer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Kathleen | “You really can’t, if you’re going to be a thriving law firm….” –
Matthew | “One fundamental truth about psychological safety… ”
James | “Now talking about checking the box…”
Kathleen | “To get out of this transactional rut…”
James | “Are the athletes that focus on their physical wellbeing… ” –

Virgin Pulse

PeerPro Health

Sunstein

Guide+Thrive by BHS – Five Pillars of Well-Being Videos

IWIL Treasurer Robin Wolpert co-authored an article with Janice Mulligan entitled Well-Being in Law: A Global Call to Action (pp. 10-12) for the International Association of Lawyers.

Jennifer DiSanza, Executive Director, Danielle Hall, VP of Policy, and Daniel Saar, Policy Committee member presented at the National Conference of Bar Examiners Annual Bar Admissions Conference on Friday, May 5. Their talk focused on IWIL’s advocacy to have mental health and substance use questions removed from bar admissions applications. You can find their presentation here. More to come on this topic.

LEGAL PROFESSION

The results are in: how do solicitors feel about their profession? The Law Society, April 6, 2023. >> Link. Result of a workplace survey of 2,000 solicitors to measure their views on career satisfaction and well-being as well as their perceptions on access to justice and policy and the rule of law.

Why Are Lawyers at Greater Risk of Suicide? By Simon Sherry Ph.D., Psychology Today, April 12, 2023. >> Link. Article discusses the how the stress, depression, over-commitment, and loneliness of the legal professional can lead the increased risk of suicide.

Survey finds deluge of mental health issues among state’s lawyers. By Nikita Biryukov, April 17, New Jersey Monitor, 2023. >> Link. In a survey conducted by the New Jersey State Bar Association, one in 10 lawyers surveyed reported suicidal thoughts and 56% reported regular alcohol abuse. They also reported high rates of anxiety, burnout, and isolation.

Michigan Supreme Court justice to enter mental health treatment. By Jonathan Oosting, Bridge Michigan, April 18, 2023. >> Link. Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein announces he will be seeking mental health care outside of the state.

Irregular hours could be detrimental to solo lawyers’ mental health, new Clio report says. By Matt Reynolds, ABA Journal, April 24, 2023. >> Link. Clio’s 2023 Legal Trends for Solo Firms reports that nearly half of those responding who work irregular schedules did not report positive mental and emotional wellness.

BEYOND THE LEGAL PROFESSION

6 Underestimated Drivers of Well-Being, By Michele DeMarco Ph.D., Rev, Psychology Today, April 15, 2023. >> Link. Meaning, purpose, value, connection, resilience, and transcendence can have a significant impact on well-being.

3 Leaders Share How They Nurture Workforce Well-Being, By Stephanie Susnjara, Forbes, April 20, 2023. >> Link.

IWIL Law School Programming

Throughout the 2023-24 Academic Year

IWIL Conference

January 17-18, 2024

Well-Being Week in the Law 2024

May 6-10, 2024

FROM THE ED

Jennifer DiSanza

Wow! Well-Being Week in Law (WWIL) was outstanding!

I was overwhelmed by the participation. Not only from organizations taking advantage of our program and resources – but so many creating and hosting their own programs. Since this was my first WWIL as the Executive Director, I was trying to keep up with all the activity online.

Early last Thursday, I hopped in my car to drive three hours south to Nashville for work. I connected my Bluetooth and put on the Amazon Acoustics playlist. The first song that played was titled, “Live it Well.” I have never heard this song before, but I keyed in on the first line of the chorus: “Life is short; I wanna live it well.” Pretty simple refrain, that we’ve heard many times before, but I felt it was very timely in the middle of WWIL. In the well-being in law movement, we want everyone to live their lives well – whatever that means for you.

I hope you took something out WWIL that helps you to live your life well. Even though it occurs once a year for one week, we hope you keep practicing what works for you the other 51 weeks of the year.

Thank you to our sponsors, Canyon Ranch, Unmind, Virgin Pulse, PeerPro Health, Sunstein, and Guide+Thrive by BHS. Without our generous sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to provide all the free resources we do.

If you enjoyed the WWIL content, please consider donating here.

Listen to Episode 27: Nathalie Cadieux of “The Path To Well Being”

Nathalie Cadieux has a Ph.D. from the University of Montreal specializing on the mental health of professionals in a regulated profession. Canadian leader on mental health research among legal professionals, she is professor in the Department of Management and Human Resources Management at the University of Sherbrooke’s business school.