In 2020, the Institute for Well-Being in Law was created as a nonprofit think tank dedicated to the individual and systemic change needed to improve the well-being of lawyers, law students, judges, and legal professionals. Through collaboration with stakeholder groups and the development of a community of well-being in law advocates, IWIL has become a recognized leader in bringing about a culture change such that positive behavioral health and well-being are recognized as essential elements of professional success and personal fulfillment.
IWIL pursues this goal through policy advocacy, new research and scholarship, education and professional development, technical and resource support for state well-being in law task forces, and stakeholder partnerships. The Institute’s core mission is to facilitate a culture shift in law to establish health and well-being as core centerpieces of professional success.
IWIL’s policy agenda is primarily directed towards changes in rules, regulations, and policy initiatives at the state and national level, focusing on issues that will meaningfully advance progress towards greater well-being for members of the profession.
These include:
- Amending state regulations regarding admission to the bar such that the character and fitness examination questions related to behavioral health are limited to actions reasonably likely to impact one’s ability to practice law, rather than inquiries into an applicant’s behavioral health status.
- Advocating for rule changes to accreditation standards so that law school teaching methods, curriculum, and policies prioritize the well-being of students, increase help-seeking by those experiencing behavioral health problems, and specifically address the well-being of underrepresented and marginalized students.
- Modifying state MCLE regulations to allow and mandate credit for continuing legal education that addresses behavioral health concerns and their prevention, including topics such as stress reduction, law practice management skills, evidence-based strategies for promoting lawyer well-being, and anti-bias and inclusivity.
- Supporting state-specific efforts to include well-being as a component of competence and fitness to practice in rules of professional conduct, without further stigmatizing attorneys living with mental health conditions or denying them the opportunity to practice law.
- As desired by individual state lawyers’ assistance programs, authorizing strict confidentiality regulations for any lawyer accessing their services in order to improve trust in – and utilization of – their services.
- Increasing state funding for lawyers’ assistance programs that will allow for the timely and effective provision of their services, sufficient to meet the needs of each state’s legal community.
- For all stakeholder groups in the legal profession, advocating for policies that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for its members who have historically been excluded from and underrepresented in the profession.
- In collaboration with state supreme courts and judicial conduct commissions, supporting the implementation of policies that allow for intervention and support of jurists impaired by a behavioral health disorders, as well as their diversion from discipline in appropriate circumstances.
- In collaboration with experts, developing sample law firm and legal organization policies that support development of their own internal policies and practices designed to create a culture of well-being and inclusion.
HOW IWIL ADVANCES POLICY INITIATIVES
IWIL prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion and is committed to addressing the challenges faced by historically underrepresented and excluded members of the profession in all our work, including policy initiatives. This work – informed by collaborations with affinity bars and other experts in the field of DEI – focuses on systemic change needed to support and elevate these members and to ensure equity of well-being among everyone in the legal profession with special attention to the historical inequities that present obstacles to progress.
Upon request, IWIL works to assist state supreme courts, bar associations, and lawyer assistance programs, inter alia, in the creation and support of state well-being task forces. IWIL recognizes that each state should have primary authority to develop well-being initiatives designed to meet the needs of its legal profession and appropriate resources to do so.
IWIL pursues these initiatives in collaboration with state well-being task forces, lawyers’ assistance programs, bar admission regulators, state bar associations, law, and courts.
IWIL monitors and maintains relationships with legal media outlets covering well-being in law issues. As appropriate, IWIL may provide comment to media on current issues and write articles for publication.
To support advancement of this policy agenda, IWIL may convene policy roundtables or other gatherings of thought leaders, monitor legal decisions impacting well-being, write amicus briefs, and develop policy white papers, as well as provide education and technical assistance to those entities crucial to bringing about systemic and cultural change.