“Sadly, our profession is falling short when it comes to well-being.”
Those stark words come from the 2017 Report of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well- Being. The report, produced by the American Bar Association, Hazelden and other groups, found a profession “at a tipping point,” with alarming levels of stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, alcoholism, substance abuse and suicide among lawyers and law students.
“We are at a crossroads. The legal profession is struggling,” the ABA report says. “To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer. To maintain public confidence in the profession, to meet the need for innovation in how we deliver legal services, to increase access to justice, and to reduce the level of toxicity that has allowed mental health and substance use disorders to fester among our colleagues, we have to act now. Change will require a wide-eyed and candid assessment of our members’ state of being, accompanied by courageous commitment to re- envisioning what it means to live the life of a lawyer.”
In this valuable course, you’ll learn how to: (a) cope with unprecedented changes at work and home, (b) embrace new opportunities in a shifting legal landscape, and (c) stay cool, calm, and collected the whole time.
Our guest speaker, Michael Kahn is a “recovering lawyer,” having practiced for 6 years with the New Jersey Attorney General’s office. He is a licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Oregon, and his psychotherapy practice has focused on helping clients deal with anxiety, depression, grief/loss, career satisfaction, and men’s issues. He co-facilitates grief groups for lawyers in Oregon and Vancouver, BC. Michael presents training seminars and workshops on ethics, grief, wellness, diversity and inclusion, and other topics throughout the U.S. and abroad, including for the U.S. military in Germany and Japan. He also is a professional coach and provides assistance with career issues, stress management, retirement, and coping with change.
