The Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being joins the Institute for Well-Being in Law to celebrate Well-Being Week in Law, May 6-10, as part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. We invite you to coordinate or participate in local activities, whether you’re an individual, law firm, corporate legal department, government entity, bar association, law school, or other organization or consultant involved in the legal profession.

Visit this page for a master listing of all events, programs, and activities happening across Massachusetts. SPECIAL KEYNOTE EVENT ON MAY 9!

**All events are free and open to all.

Participation Guides and Resources: https://lawyerwellbeing.net/well-being-week-in-law/participation-guides-resources.

National Resources: https://lawyerwellbeing.net/well-being-week-in-law.

MONDAY (5/6): Physical Well-Being

TUESDAY (5/7): Spiritual Well-Being

  • 9:00-9:30 AM: Guided Mindfulness

    Please join Dr. Tracey Meyers, staff clinician at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, for a guided mindfulness session tailored for attorneys to enhance their well-being and focus. Dr. Meyers will also provide a brief overview of how to start a mindfulness practice or continue to build on an existing one to manage the stressful demands of the legal profession. This practice will help you cultivate a sense of calm, improve your concentration, and foster resilience against daily stressors. Mindfulness practices can be portable tools to use not only in your personal space but also in brief moments throughout your workday, whether before entering the courtroom or during a pause between meetings. (Hosted by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Mindfulness in Law Society) Register here.

  • 2:00 PM: Breaking Up with Alcohol: How and Why to Drink Less to Be Your Best (Hosted by the Institute for Well-Being in Law). For more information and registration details, please visit https://lawyerwellbeing.net/well-being-week-in-law. *CLE Credit Eligible

  • 4:30-6:00 PM: Balancing Acts: Personal Health and Parenthood in Practice
    Join us for a panel discussion featuring four accomplished attorneys who will share their personal journeys and strategies for balancing demanding legal careers amidst significant life challenges. Panelists will delve into the intricacies of managing their professional responsibilities while overcoming personal health obstacles, in addition to sharing candid reflections on their journeys through family planning, providing invaluable insights and practical advice on how they maintained their personal health and integrated parenthood with their legal careers. 

    Don't miss this unique opportunity to gain perspective and practical guidance for achieving harmony between personal well-being, family life, and professional success! (Hosted by the Boston Bar Association) Register here

WEDNESDAY (5/8): Career and Intellectual Well-Being

  • 1:00 PM: Well-Being Lab: Turning Knowing into Doing with Playful Experimentation (Hosted by the Institute for Well-Being in Law). For more information and registration details, please visit https://lawyerwellbeing.net/well-being-week-in-law. *CLE Credit Eligible

    Feeling frustrated that your New Year’s well-being resolutions fizzled out by May? Ditch the guilt and disappointment and join the Well-Being Lab: Your fresh start to make sustainable change for greater health and happiness.

    ​​Science tells us which well-being strategies benefit people “on average.” That’s helpful. But it doesn’t guarantee that they’ll work for you. Or that they’ll work forever. Also, most of us know many things we should do to protect and promote our well-being. But busy lives and ingrained habits get in the way.

    Because everyone is different, there’s no one-size-fits all well-being strategy. This means that we each need to figure out what works for us and how to sustainably integrate it into our own complicated, changing lives. How do we do this? Self-experiments can help. The gist of self-experimentation is to try different things, figure out what’s working for you, and then keep doing things that work. And the more fun we have doing it, the more likely that we’ll keep experimenting and integrating our learning into our lives.

  • 3:00-4:00 PM: Thriving Through Turbulence: Strategies for Maintaining Well-Being (Hosted by Practicing Law Institute).

    Join us for an empowering presentation on maintaining well-being during challenging times. Explore actionable techniques to nurture your mental, emotional, and physical health amidst adversity. Learn how to cultivate resilience, foster positive habits, and thrive despite life’s obstacles. Gain insights and tools to navigate difficulties with grace and emerge stronger than ever. Register here.

THURSDAY (5/9): Social Well-Being + SPECIAL EVENT!

  • 4:00-6:00 PM: Realizing Your True Potential: An Evening with The Performance Whisperer, George Mumford, and Local Attorneys (Hosted by the SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, the Institute for Well-Being in Law, the Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts)

    This special program will feature George Mumford, a.k.a. The Performance Whisperer, a globally recognized speaker, teacher, person in long-term recovery, and pioneer in sports psychology and performance. Since 1989, he’s been honing his groundbreaking performance and mindfulness techniques with people from locker rooms to board rooms, Yale to jail — as Phil Jackson’s ‘Secret Weapon’ to winning eight NBA Championships, helping Michael Jordan transform his leadership, and teaching Kobe Bryant to “just be.”

    George’s strategies that utilize mindfulness, self-regulation, and self-awareness, work in all high stress environments including the practice of law. George will help us to understand how unlocking these strategies can impact our performance and happiness in the profession. 

    In this keynote address, George will be interviewed by SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being member, Marianne LeBlanc (Sugarman and Sugarman, P.C.).

    The keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion among lawyers and lawyer-athletes, including:

    Moderator: Payal Salsburg (Laredo & Smith, LLP, SJC Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being)

    Stacey Best (Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers)

    Amanda Rowan (Massachusetts Trial Court, MBA Well-Being Committee)

    Kelly Cooke (Morgan Lewis)

    Tasha Marshall (Office of Bar Counsel, Mass Black Lawyers Association)

    Wendy Tamis Robbins (WTR Enterprises, MBA Well-Being Committee)

    Geoffrey Spofford (Lian Zarrow)

    More panelists to be announced!

    *Approved for CLE Credits for CPCS panel attorneys

FRIDAY (5/10): Emotional Well-Being

  • 11:00 AM: Share Your Well-Being Boosting Passion (Hosted by the Institute for Well-Being in Law).

    How legal professionals invest their non-work time and energy can have a big impact on their mental health and work engagement. But many feel so busy and tired from work, that their non-work activities dwindle. The aim of this program is to provide inspiration and resources to try out new, well-being-boosting activities outside work. Register here.

  • 12:00-1:00 PM: Legal Well-Being in Massachusetts: Impressions a Year After the NORC Report with Dr. Jeff Fortgang, Clinician at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, and Amy Levine, Director of Programs and Volunteers at Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (Hosted by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers)

    When the NORC study was published in February 2023, it revealed high rates of depression, burnout, and hazardous drinking among Massachusetts lawyers, reflecting a national trend. Since then, what progress has been made?

    Join us to review signs of movement, on the part of law firms, bar associations, law schools, and other legal organizations, toward improving the well-being of the over 60,000 lawyers across Massachusetts.

    We’ll explore:

    • Where we were: A review of the NORC study findings from one year ago.

    • Where we are now: A glimpse of initiatives and programs launched since the study.

    • Where we are going: A discussion on emerging trends and aspirations for the future of lawyer well-being in Massachusetts.

    This is an opportunity to learn more about how the legal profession in Massachusetts is addressing mental health and creating a more supportive environment for its members. Register here