On-Demand CLE Presentations

As lawyers, we have many opportunities to observe our coworkers and colleagues in action. Sometime these observations might give rise to a genuine concern that help is needed. This program is designed for colleagues and managers who may observe concerning changes in behavior. It discusses how to recognize and obtain help when you, a work colleague, or another professional colleague may have substance use, mental health, or other issues that affect behavior, conduct, and performance.

This program explains neurodiversity and related concepts in everyday language and discusses how lawyers experience neurodiversity in their practices. The program focuses on educating attorneys to better communicate with neurodiverse clients.

An eating disorder is not a lifestyle choice — it is an illness that can be deadly and often hides in plain sight. An estimated 30 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder, and one-quarter of law students screen positive for eating disorders.

Lawyers bring intellect, passion, and skill to their work, carry significant workloads, and work long hours in close relationship with others solving difficult problems. Lawyers seek justice and successful resolution for clients and others and fairness, meaning, and intrinsic and external rewards for themselves.

Life and work during the COVID pandemic have been challenging for many people, including legal professionals. These challenges are multifaceted and, at times, seemingly unrelenting. Changing circumstances give rise to unique stressors, including those experienced by clients and parties. As the profession adjusts, those quick decisions we must make may be based on implicit biases and assumptions.

In the past few decades, advances in medical imaging have provided the medical and psychiatric fields with an improved understanding of the effects of addictive substances on the human brain. This program reviews key findings and discusses how these new insights can lead us to understand better addiction as a disease, better treatment options, and perhaps even better outcomes in legal proceedings.

As lawyers, our duties under the Rules of Professional Conduct underpin our service to clients. We are accustomed to quiet withdrawals, transfers of representation, and serving clients well, even when clients are at their most difficult. We work in the midst of looming deadlines, mountains of cases, negativity, and other stressful conditions.

The last few years have disrupted lawyers’ professional and personal lives. Attorneys may feel like their lives seem out of control, yet they are not alone in feeling the effects of a pandemic, economic downturn, or political divisiveness. Clients are affected too.

Life and work during the COVID pandemic have been challenging for many people, including legal professionals. These challenges are multifaceted and, at times, seemingly unrelenting.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers relied heavily on smartphones and related technologies. Since the pandemic, attorney reliance on technology has increased exponentially, becoming a necessary part of the practice of law today.

With all we have been through these last two years both in our professional and personal lives, many lawyers are feeling exhausted, discouraged, stressed, and “burned out.” This timely program explores what burnout is, how our work as legal professionals contributes to burnout, and how to make our way out of burnout, regain our spark, and enjoy our lives.

Given our new agile society, this training will give participants a learning opportunity to be trauma-informed and sustain themselves in their professions and lifestyles. We will explore the link between adjusting to COVID-19, racial injustice, and mental wellness challenges in our homes, workplaces, and communities. This program was presented in collaboration with MABL.