YLD devotes May to attorney health and wellness
May will mark The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division’s second annual “Health and Wellness Month,” designed to bring awareness to the mental and physical issues that affect lawyers’ quality of life.
This year, the YLD wants to raise awareness through several month-long programs that will help lawyers establish healthier habits and provide them with support and tools to tackle the stressors of life.
“Last year, we started a great conversation in Florida about the importance of health and wellness among lawyers,” said YLD President Gordon Glover. “This year, we want to expand this emphasis further as too many lawyers continue to struggle with issues of stress, anxiety, and depression and are abandoning the profession over ‘quality of life’ issues in alarming rates.”
Ben Gibson, chair of the YLD Quality of Life Committee, added, “Our hope is that the emphasis on health and wellness will play a small role in changing the habits of lawyers and law firms for the better.”
YLD board member Jason S. Lambert of Palm Harbor said the YLD is offering several programs during the month of May, including:
• Daily Challenges. The YLD will be challenging lawyers to take action daily (like exercise or meditation) and providing information on the benefits of these activities and practical ways to implement them.
• Affiliate Involvement. The YLD is encouraging local affiliates to engage in activities designed to promote health and wellness by offering grants of up to $500 to make those activities happen. The YLD will also host a competition among local affiliates to produce a one-minute video highlighting the affiliates’ health and wellness initiatives to share with other affiliates around the state.
• Collaboration with Experts. The YLD is collaborating with Larry Krieger, professor at the Florida State University School of Law, who is recognized for his research on the well-being, satisfaction, values, and motivations of law students and lawyers; and with Professor Scott Rogers, author and thought leader in the area of mindfulness and founder and director of the Mindfulness and Law Program at the University of Miami School of Law.
• Humor Breaks. Every weekday, the YLD will send out, via social media, short and funny video clips to provide a little stress relief and inject some humor into everyone’s day.
• TakeFive. Throughout May, the YLD will profile judges and lawyers by asking them questions about how they integrate positive mental and physical health practices into their lives.
• FirmFocus. Similarly, the YLD will profile law firms that make health and wellness a priority and how they support attorneys’ physical and mental well-being.
• Focus on Women. In conjunction with YLD’s Women’s Affairs Committee, the YLD will be featuring short videos throughout May with women attorneys around the state discussing how they balance life and the practice of law.
• Mindfulness Webinars. Free, CLE-credit webinars will be offered featuring Jeena Cho, author of The Anxious Lawyer, An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation.
Nearly every aspect of the YLD’s Health and Wellness Month will be broadcast on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram).
