The high-pressure environment. The demand for perfection. The win-at-all costs expectation. Stress-related factors like these have placed lawyers at the very bottom of the list when rating the mental health of today’s white collar professionals.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways for lawyers to move up the list of mentally healthy industries. Mindfulness or mindful thinking has been deemed by many as one of the most effective methods to improve the overall wellness of the legal profession, especially in the eyes of the Commission on Professionalism and the Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP).
The stress of an attorney’s professional life can take a toll on one’s ability to consistently perform at his/her best in the most difficult of situations. However, by using improved decision-making and judgment skills, a lawyer can challenge the thinking that gets activated under stress, and work to achieve a better mind.
That goal of a “better mind” is the core of an upcoming June CLE program the Commission and LAP will be facilitating together.
A Better Mind: Decision-Making Under Stress will teach lawyers how to identify and explain our most common errors in judgment resulting from stress, and give insight on how attorneys can better avoid them with mindful thinking strategies.
Led by Tony Pacione, MSW, MAEd, Clinical Director for the Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program, and Michelle Silverthorn, Diversity and Education Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, this mindfulness CLE serves as a guide for attorneys seeking to improve the outcomes of stressful and demanding situations in the workplace.
The free program will take place in Chicago on June 28, 2016 from 1-2:30pm at ISBA Mutual, 20 South Clark Street, Suite 800. Attendees will receive 1.5 hours of Professional Responsibility CLE credit in Illinois.
Registration is available on the Commission’s website. Please contact Michelle Silverthorn with any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you all in June.