Illinois (IL) Mental Health Sub. Abuse CLE Course Catalog

This session will cover barriers to wellness for lawyers, and why lawyers are often reluctant to seek help. This panel will also include achievable strategies that lawyers can employ to enhance their well-being. In addition, this program will review lawyers' ethical obligations, and how enhancing personal well-being and adopting strategies for balancing life’s demands can enhance their ability to comply with these obligations.

Stuart Teicher, Esq., posts some funny stuff while on the road as a CLE teacher. Like most of society he documents his life on FaceBook. But the difference is that most of his posts actually teach some important mental health lessons for lawyers. Join him as he discusses how lawyers are affected by anxiety, compassion fatigue, over-functioning, and more.

As companies recognize the cost of employees’ poor wellbeing, the discussion will look to shine some light on what has been done thus far and what else needs to be done to improve, and where necessary, change the established course on the issue of attorneys wellbeing.

Attorneys and Judges take on the world and often the problems of their clients and litigants. Law students feel this pressure from the first day of law school, worried about student debt, competition for jobs, and struggles for professional achievement. Many of us are working long hours and under significant pressure, which can have a significant impact on our well-being. The pandemic has significantly increased emotional stress and feelings of isolation for all of us. These conditions can culminate in serious mental health problems, including depression and suicide.

Incivility in the legal profession is not a new concern. But workplace abuse and bullying involve behavior akin to domestic violence, including psychological aggression, dominance, and control. What are the key components of workplace abuse? How are targets harmed and traumatized? What is the impact of workplace abuse on the ethical practice of law, lawyer well-being, and the performance of lawyers and organizations? The panel will discuss these questions and more.

As the lines have gone from blurry to nonexistent, lawyers and legal teams everywhere are struggling with when to ‘end’ the workday before a new one begins. An already long overdue concern for lawyers, finding appropriate work/life balance amid a global pandemic requires legal teams to think more creatively about how they are helping lawyers reduce stress and maintain a sustainable pace that will not lead to fatigue, burn out, or more serious mental health concerns. Thanks to the recent pandemic however, a silver lining has emerged: there is a new light and focus on what firms can do to boost morale, keep mental health front-and-center, and make work/life balance a reality, instead of a hopeful, yet distant dream.

A number of Important dialogues in recent years have addressed lawyers struggling with mental health issues and drug/alcohol problems. But what happens when it's the debtors and creditors who have these issues, such as small equity-holders and former employees of chapter 11 debtors? This roundtable discussion will focus on the issues the industry sees on a daily basis — mostly in the consumer context, but not always.

The program covers how to best respond when lawyers and judges are impaired and unfit to practice.

As attorneys, chronic stress is often a part of our job. If we do not effectively manage chronic stress, however, it has the potential to cripple our productivity levels. Chronic stress can also make it physically, mentally, and emotionally impossible to advocate for our clients and communicate with them effectively and competently.