The Mindfulness Blog

Anne-Claire Jamart recently highlighted a new study which makes it clear (as if there was ever any doubt) that lawyers-- especially lawyers in firms of more than 100-- tend to feel less valued for their "human worth" than their colleagues in smaller law firms. That's the "it".

And how do we "stop" it? That's ultimately up to respective law firms, but in order to stop it it's clear that they'll have to do more than simply hire or appoint a wellbeing director. If there is any doubt as to that statement, I can personally attest to its accuracy, based upon a very recent confidential conversation with a lawyer (working for a reputable large, multinational law firm), who contacted me for advice related to his/her professional career.

Among other things, I was told that the lawyer wasn't even aware that the firm had a director of wellbeing. Equally troubling was the fact that the lawyer was not inclined to contact the director in question (who I personally know and believe to be of tremendous integrity) -- so much for the firm's messaging and (apparently, not meaningful) support of lawyer wellbeing. That needs to stop.

As previously expressed in numerous prior blog postings, the hiring of a wellbeing director-- without necessary support staff and an adequate budget-- is a form of virtue signaling that has little or no impact on the growing concern of lawyer wellbeing. It's a toothless act that suggests institutional skepticism or indifference and is fundamentally cynical.

I could go on, but I won't-- because it rarely matters and seems to be falling on deaf ears. What a shame. The legal profession needs to stop stopping and start starting.

And somebody-- some law firm-- has got to start first.