Browsing Tag

Well-Being

Eric Shannon

In-House Counsel(or): The Case for Providing Integrated Mental Health Support Services to Law Students

By: Felicia Bennett, Holloran Center Coordinator

Eric W. Shannon, Associate Dean for Student Services & Adjunct Professor at St. John’s University School of Law, recently published an article in the University of Alabama’s Journal of the Legal Profession, Volume 49:1. This article, titled “In-House Counsel(or): The Case for Providing Integrated Mental Health Support Services to Law Students,” develops an argument around the responsibility of law schools for providing mental health support for their students.

In this article, Dean Shannon advocates for the importance of an integrated mental health professional (IMHP) that can support law students with the specific struggles they face as they prepare to enter a high-demand profession. He mentions the need for addressing ABA Standard 303(b)’s call for the development of a professional identity, which also includes the development of well-being practices. Dean Shannon explores court cases which relate to the need for counseling resources, explores the benefits of the IMHP model, and offers suggestions for schools that do not have the resources to follow this model.

The abstract of the article follows:

While some American law schools currently provide onsite mental health support services to their student populations, many still do not. This essay is the first to argue that all law schools should provide onsite mental health support services to their students—ideally, by way of a mental health professional integrated within the law school’s staff (an “integrated mental health professional,” or “IMHP”) who is familiar not only with the unique pressures of law school generally, but also with the school-specific environment. It explores current data on law student well-being as well as external considerations including ABA recommendations and standards for law schools related to mental health and wellness; the trend at law schools nationwide toward adopting IMHPs; and the risk of legal liability that can be mitigated by having an IMHP. It then describes the unique student support benefits yielded by adoption of the IMHP model. It concludes with recommendations for student affairs professionals at law schools that are unable to create an IMHP position.

We highly encourage any schools that are looking to build out a more robust mental health and wellness program to read this article as a starting point for thinking about how to better serve their students.

You can find the full article on SSRN. Please reach out to Eric Shannon at shannoe1@stjohns.edu with any questions or comments.

Associate Dean for Student Services and Adjunct Professor, St. John’s University School of Law; Cornell University, B.S.; Fordham University, M.S.T.; NYU School of Law, J.D.

April 16, 2025 by hami3258

Michael Geiselhart

Others-Centered Lawyering: A Response to Katya S. Cronin’s Value-Centered Lawyering

by Michael Geiselhart[1]

The plight of lawyers along many axes of mental, physical, and emotional health is a long-running story that has been discussed over decades and it has been documented in countless law review articles. Katya Cronin tells the story particularly well in her recent article: Value-Centered Lawyering: Reshaping the Law School Curriculum to Promote Well-Being, Quality Client Representation, and a Thriving Legal Field.[2]

As Professor Cronin points out, 74% of lawyers say that being a lawyer is bad for their mental health; 60% report feelings of anxiety or stress; and 30% suffer from depression—a figure that becomes even more stark when you compare it with the general population. Apparently, lawyers are five times more likely to develop alcohol-related problems as compared to the general population.[3]

Professor Cronin also accurately identifies the traditional villains that purportedly cause this immense emotional, mental, and physical suffering—the dreaded billable hour, the high demand for productivity, staggering amounts of law school debt, the lack of time for personal pursuits, etc.[4]

So far, so good: Professor Cronin is summarizing well-trod ground, and she brings the sources to bear, showing her work. But the truly insightful aspect of Professor Cronin’s analysis is that she goes further in this article than summarizing and reminding us of long-standing issues within the legal profession. Instead, she adds to the mix a cause that is not often talked about: the disconnect between lawyers’ personal values and the interests that they are asked to represent. Her thesis is that, where there is a disconnect between an individual’s personal values on the one hand, and the activities that he spends up to 80 (or more) hours a week doing on the other hand, that individual is likely to experience a type of moral schizophrenia.[5] Her analysis here is backed up by extensive citations to studies and research.[6]

Moreover, her conclusion is also in accordance with general human experience. This is because human beings are intensely moral creatures. So it stands to reason that when they spend a majority of their waking hours doing things that are either divorced from their moral convictions or actively contrary to those convictions, they will suffer.

What does Professor Cronin mean by the absence of personal values in the lawyering profession? She gives examples of the student who is interested in environmental law because he is “passionate about the environment,” and yet finds himself in a multi-national law firm defending a client who despoils the environment.[7] Another example is of a hypothetical student who is passionate about public service work but who is tasked with having to defend an alleged child abuser: “[s]he worries incessantly that her efforts—zealous as they are—could potentially help return a child to an environment where it may yet again be subject to neglect and abuse.”[8]

In both of these instances, these lawyers are contrasted with counter examples of lawyers who are pursuing work that is in accord with those lawyers’ personal values and goals. In these examples, the lawyers who are working against the grain of their personal value system are depressed; they are worried; and they experience far less job satisfaction than the lawyers whose job aligns with their personal morality and values.

Another innovative contribution of Professor Cronin’s analysis is that she traces at least some of this neglect of personal values back to the law school curriculum, which “de-emphasize[s] personal values, beliefs, and goals in favor of cold rationality, client demands, and external rewards.”[9] As evidence, she points to the “absence” of personal values in doctrinal classrooms, and she argues that those classes convey the view of law “less as a tool for achieving justice, and more so as an instrument” for achieving ends divorced from their personal values. She also cites the Socratic method as a culprit because “a Socratic dialogue is not a discussion where assertions of students’ personal views are welcomed.”[10]

This focus on the absence of personal values in much of the lawyering profession helps to explain the distinction in physical, mental, and emotional health outcomes between lawyering and other high stress professions. Indeed, other professionals, such as doctors, who are similarly overburdened with paperwork, bureaucracy, and burnout work hours, for example, do not suffer from the same levels of emotional, mental, and physical disorders as lawyers.

In other words, Professor Cronin tells a compelling story about what ails the legal profession. It is a diagnosis in which I fully concur.

But it is in her proposed solution that I find grounds to (ever so gently) disagree with Professor Cronin. In my view, her solution is an incomplete one. She suggests a focus inward—on personal values and fulfillment as such. For example, she argues that: “alongside teaching students to think like lawyers, to serve their clients, and to work hard, we also need to teach them how to fulfill a paramount duty to themselves—to choose careers, job opportunities, and clients aligned with their values and sense of purpose.”[11] In fact, she goes so far as to argue that “all lawyers would be best served to pursue a career that closely aligns with their personal values, whether those values are altruistic, hedonistic, or anything in between.”[12] This goes too far, in my estimation.

Instead, I believe that a focus on self-sacrifice in the service of others leads to a true solution to the mental, emotional, and physical issues ailing the legal profession. The duty that lawyers should be concerned about is less a “duty to themselves,” as Professor Cronin puts it, and more of a duty to others in the achievement of the common good. And this slightly altered focus (as I view it), in turn, will lead to a focus on ethical, spiritual, or religious growth of the lawyer. At bottom, what most lawyers suffer from is a detriment that comes from divorcing an ethical, spiritual, or religious framework from what they spend a high percentage of their time on earth actually doing on a daily basis.

Therefore, my own suggestion would be that law students are urged early on in their law school career to reflect upon their worldview, and in particular, the reasons behind that worldview—be it a religious tradition or a well-thought-out (albeit secular) ethical framework—and think about how they can integrate that framework into their daily practice. Ideally, this should include a focus on others—family, other people, the local community, etc.

My own experience in discerning the type of lawyer I wanted to be, and where I wanted to work, is a good example of this process. In the context of my own legal practice, my ethical framework is guided by the Roman Catholic faith. I have made a commitment to living out those principles. Those principles, as I understood them, required a service to others and a focus on the common good. In other words, it required an outward looking focus beyond myself and my own interests.

How does this relate to career choice (and hence, job satisfaction)? Early in my legal career, I noticed that what I liked doing most, and what I was most talented at, was working with, and mentoring, other attorneys. Most of these other attorneys were even younger and newer than I was. In other words, doing the legal work was not nearly as rewarding to me as teaching younger attorneys how to do the legal work and showing them how they could become competent, successful, and professional attorneys.

After practicing for many years as a government lawyer, an opportunity for teaching came up, and I had to have a serious conversation with myself about taking this opportunity. There were downside risks—I loved my government job; it was safe; and change is often difficult. But the thought kept coming back to me of aligning my legal practice with the values that I hold important, combined with what I am good at—and so I made the decision to become a teacher, leaving a career that I had otherwise enjoyed.

In my case, this integration of my personal values with my professional life has made all the difference. The important point, however, is that this was not simply a decision based upon my personal values. It was a values-based decision that was informed by an external and objective source of morality, not solely an inward-focused analysis of my own feelings and views on the matter. And it is this alteration in focus that I believe is the distinction between the approach that Professor Cronin suggests, and the approach that I posit.

There are at least two potential objections to my argument that Professor Cronin’s assessment of the disease afflicting lawyers is accurate, but the cure is insufficient. First, some might object that we live in a world that is deeply divided on almost everything, and that therefore, agreeing to a uniform system of values is impossible. A second objection is that imposition of extrinsic values might be counterproductive. Professor Cronin articulates both of these concerns in her article.[13] I will take both of these concerns in turn.

First, it is clearly true that there appears to be an increase in political polarization these days, and it is also clearly true that political polarization is downstream of very serious disagreements on morality. But I don’t think that we need to agree on the details of particular moral codes in order to agree with my broader formulation that a focus on values should be informed by an external and objective system of morality such as that represented by many of the major religious traditions of the world as well as mainstream secular ethical philosophies. The important thing is to agree on the importance of a moral code, of acting in conformity with that moral code, and having that moral code manifest in the practice of law—in other words, the legal career is (and should be) vocational in its character.

In other words, it is the infusion of morals from some sort of external ethical structure that is important—not all of the specific details of that moral code. Moreover, there is more than a sufficient amount of overlap with regard to the morals that I think are important, which are broad-based moral principles such as service to others, devotion to the common good as a general rule (even if we disagree on the details) and respect for the dignity, individuality, and uniqueness of each human person. This is probably why doctors and others in the medical field have better mental, emotional, and physical health than lawyers even though their work is just as busy: they are focused on service to others and that service to others is itself in service of an objective moral good: health. That is an objective moral good that both the religious and the irreligious can agree upon. In sum, the fact that people have vastly different sources of their morality or ideas about what that morality entails is not an insurmountable obstacle.

The second possible objection, which was mentioned above, is the idea that externally imposed value systems might be counter-productive.[14] Professor Cronin mentions this objection as one of her reasons for not going further in the advocating of substance behind the focus on morality.

The response here is similar to the response just noted: this difficulty largely goes away when we focus on the values that are widely shared among some of the most important sources of external moral authority. By this I mean the most widely held religious and spiritual points of view and traditional secular ethical standards. A focus on the service of others, the dignity of the individual, and the flourishing of society above-and-beyond the interests of individuals: these are goals agreed upon by the vast majority of adherents to all religious faiths, spiritual truths, and even secular values. The “imposition” of these types of values is unlikely, in my opinion, to be counter-productive.

How would my proposed extension of Professor Cronin’s principles play out in practice? No doubt it will differ based on the individual lawyer who is attempting this—a traditional Catholic lawyer, for example, will have a different reaction to a client who wants to arrange a surrogacy contract than a strongly atheistic client who does not object to such practices. And in fact, the atheistic client may have a firm secular commitment to helping such a client in that circumstance precisely because the Catholic lawyer will not take the case. But in both instances, the lawyers are living in accordance with a moral framework that will provide enhanced job satisfaction and hopefully help to turn around the truly depressing statistics that currently describe the physical, mental, and spiritual health of all too many lawyers.

Once more: the fact that the two lawyers in the example that I just gave have vastly different ideas of what morality requires in any given situation is not the main point. The main point is that both of them are living out the principle of a values-based decision that makes their work more meaningful. That way, even when they are both working 80 hours per week, both lawyers will feel that it was for a larger purpose that aligns with their moral code.

Professor Cronin’s article is an important contribution to this critical topic. Her diagnosis of the problem is compelling. Her solution of a focus on values-based lawyering is an important start on solving that problem. But a complete solution will require the additional steps of implementing a values-based system that is in accord with an external structure of moral authority, be it religious, spiritual, or ethical. We in the legal profession should be more straightforward about that. We should embrace values-centered lawyering.

[1] Assistant Professor of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Bowen School of Law.

[2] Katya S. Cronin, Value-Centered Lawyering: Refocusing the Law School Curriculum to Promote Well-Being, Quality Client Representation, and a Thriving Legal Field, 101 U. Det. L. Rev. 257 (2024).

[3] Id. at 262-263.

[4] Id. at 264-265.

[5] Id. at 273.

[6] See id. citing Deborah Rhode, Personal Satisfaction in Professional Practice, 58 Syracuse L. Rev.

[7] Id. at 259.

[8] Id. at 260.

[9] Id. at 261.

[10] Id. at 269.

[11] Id. at 258 (emphasis added).

[12] Id. at 277.

[13] Id. at 275-276.

[14] Id. at 275.

Michael Geiselhart is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (JD) and the University of Georgia (B.A. and A.B.J.), his research and teaching concentrates on contract law, government contracts, and business associations. Prior to teaching, Professor Geiselhart was an Assistant District Counsel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working with the Jacksonville, Memphis, and Little Rock Districts.

March 26, 2025 by hami3258

Katya Cronin

Value-Centered Lawyering: Reshaping the Law School Curriculum to Promote Well-Being, Quality Client Representation, and a Thriving Legal Field

By Felicia Bennett, Holloran Center Coordinator

Katya Cronin, Associate Professor in the George Washington University Fundamentals of Lawyering program, recently published, “Value-Centered Lawyering: Reshaping the Law School Curriculum to Promote Well-Being, Quality Client Representation, and a Thriving Legal Field.” She has written on similar themes in the past (see “The Intentional Pursuit of Purpose: Nurturing Students’ Authentic Motivation for Practicing Law”). In “Value-Centered Lawyering”, she explores one cause of the diminished health, well-being, and professional dedication of lawyers: the disconnect between lawyers’ personal values and the interests they are asked to represent. Seeking answers as to why this disconnect exists, Cronin highlights the negative impact of a law school curriculum whose hidden message is to seek “extrinsic rewards” over “intrinsic values”. Finally, she presents suggestions around ways to integrate a focus on values into the legal curriculum.

Here is the abstract of Cronin’s article:

For three long and harrowing years in law school, students learn to think like lawyers, to put their clients first, to interpret the law as it stands, to deftly advocate for positions they do not believe in, and to strive for successful and prestigious careers. These lessons help them develop analytical and advocacy skills, creativity and perseverance, a strong work ethic, and ambition. But there is a darker side to these learning objectives. What law students often take away from their time in law school is that their own personal beliefs, values, and experiences are irrelevant to the practice of law. They quickly learn that they must serve clients and employers, however personally distasteful or damaging it may be to them. And they begin to measure their worth and success by the yardsticks of prestige and money. Hearing these consistent albeit subliminal messages, law students frequently disassociate from the expectations that their future careers should reflect their inner selves, and they soon find themselves trapped in jobs they consider morally taxing or meaningless. When faced with such recurring conflicts between their work obligations and personal values, or with an overarching feeling of professional meaninglessness, most lawyers experience chronic cognitive dissonance, turn to alcohol or controlled substances for comfort, or develop anxiety, depression, and a host of other emotional, mental, and physical ailments. They lose interest in their work, perform worse, and experience burnout, thus jeopardizing not only their own well-being, but also client outcomes and the stability of the legal field in the long run.

Tragically, such scenarios are the norm, not the exception. Something needs to change. This essay explores what and how in three parts. Part I examines the symptoms of an ailing legal profession. Part II traces the root cause of lawyer unhappiness and aimlessness to the law school curriculum and its shortcomings in supporting law students’ and lawyers’ burgeoning professional identities. This section challenges the choice to de-emphasize personal values in the classroom, the unquestioning and unqualified insistence on client- centered lawyering, and the system of external rewards and validation as the predominant law school narratives. Finally, Part III argues that, alongside teaching students to think like lawyers, to serve their clients, and to work hard, we also need to teach them how to fulfill a paramount duty to themselves—to choose careers, job opportunities, and clients aligned with their values and sense of purpose. This section proposes simple modifications to the legal curriculum that would promote frequent value-focused self-reflection and reinforce the perception that lawyers are not merely instruments of client service, but people with unique backgrounds, experiences, and personal values that can and should factor in building their professional identities.

We encourage you to read the full article here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5034763

Should you have any questions or comments about the article, please feel free to contact Professor Cronin at katya_cronin@law.gwu.edu.

February 7, 2025 by hami3258

Colette Schmidt, Stephanie Kupferman

Holiday Stress: A Lawyer’s Guide to Balancing Work, Life, and Well-Being – Even Beyond the Holidays

By: Stephanie E. Kupferman, Associate Professor of Law, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Colette C. Schmidt, Assistant Director of Career Services, Vermont Law and Graduate School

[Sung to the tune of Carol of the Bells]

Anxiety

Weighing on me

Can’t go to sleep

Mind is racing

Overthinking

Every thought

Can’t turn them off

Think all night long, everything is wrong

So crippling

I’m panicking

Nothing is clear

All things I fear

Caught in a snare

Filled with despair

Oh how it pounds, flying around

Anxiety controlling me

Frantically praying

Mind won’t stop racing

Heart is pounding

Why do I have to feel this way?

On, on it sends, on without end

Anxiety, torturing me

On without end

Anxiety

Torturing me[1]

For many Americans, the holiday season is punctuated by recurring thoughts of panic, anxiety, and even depression.[2] With the daily stressors that lawyers often experience, the effects of the “holiday blues” can be compounding. The refrain above not only often can define the regular life of lawyers but can especially ring true during the holiday season. Lawyers work hard and sacrifice so much to be successful, even during the holidays—from disappointing family and friends by working around-the-clock, to impacting others’ (e.g., other attorneys’ and administrative staff’s) holiday plans to satisfy clients’ year-end goals, to meeting yearly billable hour requirements, and more.[3] Adding holiday stressors to a regularly stress-induced lifestyle can become, for lack of a better term, overwhelming.[4]

Nearly nine out of ten U.S. adults say something causes them stress during the holiday season, according to a poll conducted by the American Psychological Association last year.[5] That same poll found that 41% of adults said their stress levels increase during the holiday season as compared to other times of the year.[6] A seminal nationwide study of approximately 13,000 lawyers galvanized interest in lawyer well-being when it was published in 2016.[7] That study revealed that 28% of lawyers experienced depression, 19% reported anxiety, 23% reported excessive stress, and 11% even reported suicidal thoughts.[8] Another study conducted by Bloomberg Law in 2021 found that over half of respondents reported attorney burnout.[9] An alarming 67% of attorneys reported currently experiencing anxiety in a 2022 survey conducted by Law.com.[10] Law.com conducted another survey earlier this year, which showed some, but not significant, improvement of mental health issues amongst lawyers and discussed the effects of “old school” expectations in this modern age.[11] What is most important to note with these statistics, however, is that they all merely reflect small samplings of attorneys who are willing to report. It is terrifying to imagine those who are hiding their struggles.

With all of this said, what can one do? First things first: you must identify the problem. In his article, Self-love for lawyers around the holidays, James G. Robinson lists some of the telltale symptoms of attorney burnout which include, inter alia, physical and mental exhaustion; insomnia; overreacting; irrational emotions; irritation, frustration, and resentment; self-medication/substance use disorder; problems with relationships; client avoidance; moodiness; inflated sense of importance and inability to delegate; and health issues.[12] If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may be dealing with burnout.

What comes next? Whether you are suffering from attorney burnout or something else, you should identify your stress-coping style so you can start to formulate a solution. Taking the time to identify 1) the cause of your stress (which may, but might not always, be related to attorney burnout), 2) recognize how you feel when you’re stressed (e.g., floating aimlessly, getting sucked underwater, lost in a maze, etc.), and 3) learn what you do when you are stressed (e.g., do you stress-eat/fail to eat at all, doom-scroll on your phone, etc.) is integral to figuring out how to best deal with your stress.[13] Once you diagnose the problem, you can take steps that work best for you through identifying your favorite type of self-care activity (or activities), other things you find the most uplifting, a non-alcoholic beverage that makes you the happiest, and what might provide you with temporary relief (e.g., getting a kiss from your pup or watching your favorite binge-worthy TV show/movie).[14] If you’re unsure how to identify your stress and what works the best for you, take this quiz from Healthline.

Managing holiday stress starts with planning ahead. Ask yourself the oft-dreaded question: “How do I feel about myself?” especially when the holiday season looms near.[15] Take a deep breath. Diagnose the problem. Is how you’re feeling the result of attorney burnout? Financial insecurity? Lack of sleep, exercise, and/or good nutrition (in that case—take a look at our previous blog posts)? Grief? Figure out how you cope with stress, especially during the holiday season. Create an action plan. In the words of James G. Robinson, give yourself “the gift of self-love for the holidays” through self-reflection and gratitude.[16] Keep your finances in check. Create a budget that works for you. Do not overspend. Make sure you get enough sleep and exercise. Find some time to reflect on special moments you shared with those no longer with you.[17]

What is a great material “gift of self-love?” Taking the time to read Jamie Jackson Spannhake’s The Lawyer, the Lion & the Laundry (Spannhake, 2019). It’s a quick, three-hour read that can help you find the calm in the chaos that surrounds you. The book is divided into four logical parts. Part I walks you through some mind-mapping exercises to determine what you want out of your life and legal career. Part II gets you organized in creating that life by finding your support network and organizing the way you view and use time. Part III reinforces that “your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, [and] your values become your destiny.”[18] Part IV helps you turn all the work you put in the plan you create for yourself into action. Jamie’s book gives you a roadmap to creating a fulfilled life without feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

The holiday season is yet another added stressor that attorneys must face. Please take care of yourself. Put that oxygen mask on first. Not only to be the best attorney you can be, but also the best version you can be of yourself.

[1] Aaron Downs [@downwithaaron], TikTok (Dec. 19, 2024), https://www.tiktok.com/@downwithaaron/video/7450113667363900702.

[2] One Quarter of Americans Say They Are More Stressed This Holiday Season Than in 2023 Citing Financial Concerns and Missing Loved Ones, Am. Psychiatric Ass’n (Nov. 25, 2024), https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/one-quarter-of-americans-say-they-are-more-stresse.

[3] James Gray Robinson, Self-Love for Lawyers Around the Holidays, ABA Journal (Dec. 1, 2021), https://www.abajournal.com/voice/article/self-love-for-lawyers-around-the-holidays.

[4] Id.

[5] Even a Joyous Holiday Season can Cause Stress for Most Americans, Am. Psychological Ass’n (Nov. 30, 2023), https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/11/holiday-season-stress.

[6] Id.

[7] Study on Lawyer Impairment, ABA (Jan. 18, 2019), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/research/colap_hazelden_lawyer_study/ (describing the outcome of the study and the impact that it has had on the legal profession).

[8] Patrick Krill, The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys, J. of Addiction Med. 10, 46 – 52 (Jan./Feb. 2016).

[9] See generally, 2021 Attorney Workload and Hours Survey Analysis, Bloomberg Law (Mar. 11, 2021), https://assets.bbhub.io/bna/sites/7/2021/05/Lawyer-Satisfaction.pdf (discussing attorney burnout).

[10] See Attorney Wellness and Mental Healthy: A Seldom-Discussed Crisis of the Legal Profession, Herd Law Firm PLLC (Sept. 24, 2024), https://herdlawfirm.com/firm-update/attorney-wellness-and-mental-health-a-seldom-discussed-crisis-of-the-legal-profession/#:~:text=Another%20study%2C%20conducted%20in%202021,being%20declined%20in%20late%202021.

[11] Dan Roe, ‘Old School’ Expectations Plague Young Lawyer Mental Health—But Not All Predecessors Are Sympathetic, ALM | Law.com (May 17, 2024), https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2024/05/17/old-school-expectations-plague-young-lawyer-mental-health-but-not-all-predecessors-are-sympathetic/.

[12] James Gray Robinson, Self-Love for Lawyers Around the Holidays, ABA Journal (Dec. 1, 2021), https://www.abajournal.com/voice/article/self-love-for-lawyers-around-the-holidays (highlighting a non-exhaustive list of what may constitute “the gift of self-love for the holidays”).

[13] Quiz: What’s Your Stress-Coping Style?, healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/whats-your-stress-coping-style#9 (last visited Dec. 20, 2024).

[14] Id.

[15] James Gray Robinson, Self-Love for Lawyers Around the Holidays, ABA Journal (Dec. 1, 2021), https://www.abajournal.com/voice/article/self-love-for-lawyers-around-the-holidays.

[16] Id.

[17] 6 Tips for Managing Holiday Stress, healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/holiday-stress#symptoms (last visited Dec. 20, 2024).

[18] Quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi; the date and time of this quote does not appear to be readily available.

Stephanie E. Kupferman, an associate professor of law, joined the Vermont Law & Graduate School Externship team in 2018, where she works to place law students in legal offices throughout the country for law school credit. Prior to joining VLGS, Stephanie was a seasoned litigator in NYC.

Colette C. Schmidt joined Vermont Law & Graduate School as the Assistant Director of Career Services in August of 2023, where she specializes in JD degree and career counseling, interviewing, and networking skills. Before law school, Colette worked in complex civil litigation and is licensed in both New Hampshire and Vermont.

January 2, 2025 by hami3258

Colette Schmidt, Stephanie Kupferman

Silent Struggle: Navigating Eating Disorders in the Legal Profession

By: Stephanie E. Kupferman, Associate Professor of Law, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Colette C. Schmidt, Assistant Director of Career Services, Vermont Law and Graduate School

** TRIGGER WARNING: This blog post discusses the importance of good eating habits and toxic diet culture as related to the legal profession. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, please know that you’re not alone. Please refer to the following website: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/ and consider these following helplines:

ANAD Helpline: 1 (888) 375-7767
Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm CT
National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline: 1 (866) 662-1235
Monday-Friday, 9am-7pm ET
Diabulimia Helpline: 1 (425) 985-3635

YOU:              Why do I feel terrible?

BODY:          Coffee is not a meal.

BODY:          Eat a vegetable.

BODY:          Sleep.

YOU:              Guess we’ll never know.

BODY:          Oh my God……..

therahealth

__________________________________

While becoming an attorney is an undoubtedly fulfilling career, the requisite journey is a grueling process—a process that just doesn’t simply end when you become a barred attorney. From the genesis of a student’s legal career until retirement, the legal profession is, at minimum, unbelievably strenuous, taking its toll on the body and mind. From meeting client expectations to keen attention to detail, long hours, and billable hour requirements, when does an attorney find time to perform basic human functions, such as maintaining a healthy, nutritious way of eating?

Food is vital to brain function and performance. Due to the demands that accompany the legal profession, it is essential for a lawyer to maintain a balanced and nutritious way of eating.[1] A 2024 study conducted by the University of Warwick stated that “[a] balanced [way of eating] was associated with better mental health, superior cognitive functions and even higher amounts of grey matter in the brain–linked to intelligence–compared to those with a less varied diet.”[2] Further, sticking to foods that are low in salt, saturated fat, and sugar; avoiding processed foods; eating vegetables, fruit, and protein; and drinking lots of water are just among a few of the smaller choices that law students and lawyers can make on a daily basis.[3] Other attorneys have recommended stricter eating habits, such as a Mediterranean-based selection of food, which is “often hailed as one of the healthiest [eating selections] in the world,” and is “rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins (such as fish and poultry), and healthy fats (like olive oil and nuts).”[4] According to several studies, this way of eating yields improved sleep, reduction in inflammation, an increase in lifespan, a lower risk of heart disease in individuals assigned females at birth, a reduced risk of dementia and prostate cancer, improved vision with aging, and improved mental health.[5] Accordingly, it is absolutely imperative for attorneys to find time to eat as their mental health, work quality, and clients depend on it. One might even go so far as to recommend carving out eating times in a daily calendar.

But what appears to be more likely than not is that law students and attorneys will dismiss eating outright or work through lunch, blaming their lack of appetite on being too busy or stressed. When asked whether someone “has eaten today,” it is far too easy to respond with a small fib (e.g., “Of course I have!” or “I promise I’ll eat when I’m done with this outline/research assignment/brief.”). But what if the reason behind poor eating habits isn’t about the type of food eaten or the number of hours in a day? What if there is another issue lurking in the great depths of the legal profession, hidden behind carefully placed masks of unbreakable composure and perfection?

Unfortunately, data on attorneys who suffer from eating disorders does not appear to exist.[6] Even the 2016 Study on Lawyer Impairment referenced in last week’s blog post fails to address eating disorders as a separate and distinct category of mental health.[7] However, in the spring of 2014, fifteen law schools across the country engaged in a Survey of Law Student Well-Being (SLSWB).[8] In the survey, five questions were targeted at identifying eating disorders; further, two of those questions answered in the affirmative were indicative of a potential eating disorder.[9] The results were higher for law schools than those found in other programs: 27% of respondents showed signs of an eating disorder compared to 18% of undergraduate respondents and 14% of graduate respondents.[10] Further, 18% of law school respondents who screened positive for an eating disorder identified as male, whereas 34% identified as female.[11] Frighteningly, these results were inconsistent with a question on the SLSWB that asked about a formal diagnosis, in which approximately 3% of respondents said yes.[12] Of note, less than 3% of law school respondents reported receiving this diagnosis prior to law school.[13]

The landmark 2014 SLSWB study has certainly been impactful; in fact, the article summarizing the study has been downloaded more than 12,000 times.[14] A similar survey, once again only targeting law students, was conducted in 2021 (2021 SLSWB Survey).[15] Notwithstanding the 2015 DSM 5 reclassification of eating disorders,[16] the results were even more alarming than those initially identified in 2014: 29% of respondents showed signs of an eating disorder and 6.3% of individuals reported a formal diagnosis, 12% of whom reported receiving the diagnosis following the beginning of their law school careers.[17] The 2021 SLSWB survey still showed a large disparity in respondents’ gender identity: 35% of respondents who screened positive for an eating disorder identified as female and 19% of respondents identified as male.[18]

Why do so many of our students, and likely lawyers, suffer from eating disorders? Researchers have found that “eating disorders are caused by a complex interaction of genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors.”[19] Whether it’s the similar personality types and high performers, sense of competition to be the best, fear of failure or vulnerability, societal pressures, or a mix of some (or more) of these factors, the law school environment that exists today across the country does not hold itself out to be a safe space for our students. Reading blogs online about former students’ struggles with eating disorders behind façades of a calm, cool, and collected appearance is deeply disturbing. One student recounted having “great grades” and being perceived as “an example of how to succeed in law school,” but resulted in having a significant eating disorder and burnout that the student had to attempt to remedy for the remainder of their law school career.[20] Another student recounted the toll that competing with students who used Ritalin to succeed academically had on their body.[21] One student recalled an on-campus bathroom where students “hung out and talked about how much [they] loved exercising while [they] ate [their] one tiny meal of the day.”[22] Many of these accounts also discussed obtaining high academic performance and law school success while they struggled privately.[23]

As a society, we have championed weight loss, particularly among those who identify as female. Alissa Rumsey, registered dietitian, nutrition therapist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and author, stated:

[o]ur culture equates thinness to health, happiness, attractiveness and worthiness, a system of beliefs that is often referred to as diet culture. To be thin is to be deemed morally superior, whereas to be fat is to be seen as unhealthy, lazy and a failure. In this way, our culture promotes dieting and weight loss as a way to achieve a higher status and worthiness. We’re told that we have to eat a certain way and be a certain size to be “healthy.”[24]

Weight bias and toxic diet culture are extremely dangerous for several reasons. Aside from the racist and sexist implications that accompany both of these dangers, anorexia has the highest mortality case rate of any other mental illness.[25] Studies show that a person dies from an eating disorder every 52 minutes.[26] Further, toxic diet culture masks other significant physical and mental health disorders; individuals have the tendency to assume that weight loss, no matter how rapid, is intentional and thus positive.[27] Weight bias and toxic diet culture also have economic impacts as well: a 2011 report revealed that a woman’s income might decrease by 6% for every additional 10% of her body mass, heightening an already unequal pay gap.[28]

Throughout our time in law school and while practicing, we both saw firsthand the demands associated with a successful career in private practice and beyond; we also experienced the societal pressures cast on those who identify as female to stay fit, healthy, and well-dressed while doing so. Professional aspirations, combined with societal pressures to be perceived as “thin” and the taboo nature of discussions surrounding eating disorders, perpetuate suffering in silence.

The absence of data cannot lead us to forget our colleagues, especially those who identify as male, within the legal profession. In April of 2017, Brian Cuban, Author and Keynote Speaker, published a popular blog, relaying the following story:

I remember the day in April 2007 I finally confided to my psychiatrist that I was struggling with drugs and alcohol. I did not mention at that time that I also struggled with both exercise and traditional bulimia for over two decades.

I felt completely stigmatized and alone in my eating disorder and did not feel that anyone, including him could understand or help. Adding to the stigma was my profession. Not only was I a male with an eating disorder, I was a male lawyer with an eating disorder. How stigmatizing was that? I have spoken openly about my eating disorder recovery for years and to this day, I am unaware of any other male in the legal profession who has publicly professed to dealing with an eating disorder. The hard statistics of how many males are afflicted with eating disorders tell us that they are of course out there. Along those same lines, I have received numerous emails from females in the legal profession who are struggling or in recovery from [eating disorders].[29]

Brian then discussed how it took time and a level of special vulnerability for him to be open to help and able to participate in recovery.[30] With regard to his personal eating disorder, he stated: “Binging and purging was a huge stress release for me during both law school and as [a] practicing lawyer. The same was true of my obsessive-compulsive exercise. Probably my biggest trigger issue present today.”[31] In closing, he recommended that his audience “be vulnerable and let those feelings out.”[32]

We can no longer let ourselves, or our colleagues, use being busy or stressed as an excuse to mask eating disorders. Please nourish your body and mind. Get help if you need it, your loved ones will thank you for it. Be vulnerable. Let those feelings out. Check in on your friends, colleagues, and students and allow yourself to be checked in on, too. No career path is worth the expense of your mental and physical health. And we promise, you are not, nor will you ever be, alone.

[1] The Best Diets for Attorneys, The Impact Lawyers, https://theimpactlawyers.com/articles/the-best-diets-for-attorneys (last visited July 17, 2024).

[2] New Research Shows ‘Profound Link’ Between Dietary Choices and Brain Health, ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2024), https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240424111638.htm#:~:text=A%20balanced%20diet%20was%20associated,with%20a%20less%20varied%20diet.

[3] Id.; see also Eating Processed Foods, NHS (last reviewed June 12, 2023), https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/what-are-processed-foods/ (“Not all processed foods are unhealthy but some processed foods may contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat.”).

[4] [4] The Best Diets for Attorneys, The Impact Lawyers, https://theimpactlawyers.com/articles/the-best-diets-for-attorneys (last visited July 17, 2024).

[5] Beth Ann Mayer, 8 Ways the Mediterranean Diet Can Help You Live a Longer and Healthier Life, healthline (Apr. 25, 2023), https://www.healthline.com/health-news/8-ways-the-mediterranean-diet-can-help-you-live-a-longer-and-healthier-life#How-to-start-the-Mediterranean-diet.

[6] See Don Blackwell, Why Lawyers Should Begin Discussing About Mental Health’s No. 1 Killer, rocket matter, https://www.rocketmatter.com/blog/why-lawyers-need-to-start-talking-about-mental-healths-no-1-killer/ (last visited July 17, 2024) (“Similar data for practicing attorneys is sparse, if not non-existent.”).

[7] Id.

[8] Jerome M. Organ, David B. Jaffe, & Katherine M. Bender, Ph.D., Suffering in Silence: The Survey of Law Student Well-Being and the Reluctance of Law Students to Seek Help for Substance Use and Mental Health Concerns, 66 J. of Legal Edu. 1, 166 (Autum 2016).

[9] Id. at 138.

[10] Id. at 139.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] David Jaffe, et al., ‘It is Okay to Not Be Okay’: The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being, 60 U. Louisville L. Rev. 439, 439 (2022).

[15] Id.

[16] Note, however, that the criteria for disordered eating has changed to encapsulate a broader range of people from 2014 to 2021: “Thus, one could surmise that with the new classification system, which includes more than anorexia and bulimia, that there are a larger percentage of individuals who meet the criteria for disordered eating now who did not in 2014.” Id. at 466.

[17] Id. at 465-66.

[18] Id. at 466.

[19] Eating Disorders, Nat. Inst. of Mental Health, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders#:~:text=Researchers%20are%20finding%20that%20eating,the%20study%20of%20human%20genes. (last visited July 17, 2024).

[20] Staci Zaretsky, The Struggle: When Law School Gives You An Eating Disorder, Above the Law, https://abovethelaw.com/2016/08/the-struggle-when-law-school-gives-you-an-eating-disorder/ (Aug. 24, 2016).

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Alyssa Rumsey, MS, RD, CDN, CSCS, Why Are We So Focused on Weight Loss?, US News (Nov. 27, 2020), https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/is-weight-loss-even-important.

[25] Eating Disorder Statistics, ANAD, https://anad.org/eating-disorder-statistic/#:~:text=In%20a%20sample%20from%20an,positive%20for%20an%20eating%20disorder.&text=Anorexia%20has%20the%20highest%20case,rate%20of%20any%20mental%20illness.&text=10%2C200%20deaths%20each%20year%20are,one%20death%20every%2052%20minutes (last visited July 18, 2024).

[26] Id.

[27] See Melinda Ratini, DO, Did Your Doctor Fat-Shame You? Was it Weight Bias?, WebMD (Mar. 15, 2024), https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/weight-stigma-fat-phobia.

[28] Pallavi Gogoi, The Weight Bias Against Women in the Workforce is Real – and its Only Getting Worse, npr (Apr. 29, 2023), https://www.npr.org/2023/04/29/1171593736/women-weight-bias-wages-workplace-wage-gap.

[29] Brian Cuban, Eating Disorders: A Secret in the Legal Profession, Blog (Apr. 26, 2017), https://briancuban.com/eating-disorders-a-secret-in-the-legal-profession/.

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

August 6, 2024 by hami3258

Colette Schmidt, Stephanie Kupferman

An Introduction to Attorneys’ Mental Health & Wellbeing – Identifying that a Problem Exists (…and so does the Stigma)

By: Stephanie E. Kupferman, Assistant Professor of Law, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Colette Schmidt, Assistant Director of Career Services, Vermont Law and Graduate School

“It is okay to not be okay,” even in the legal profession.[1]

The law is one of the only professions dedicated to righting wrongs, ensuring fairness, and striving to ensure that all people are treated equally. However, with great fulfillment comes monumental responsibility. Lawyers are consequently more vulnerable to stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse than nearly any other profession.[2] Anne Brafford, Vice President of Programming and former equity partner at Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP, opines in her Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Legal Employers that being a lawyer is an immense privilege, allowing our law degrees to provide opportunities to contribute to the vitality of government, the business sector, community safety, and individual lives.[3] But with these grave responsibilities come concomitant stressors that need to be managed. Given that August is wellness month and discussions of mental health are still stigmatized in the legal profession, it feels like propitious timing to address a series of blog posts to wellness topics within the practice of law.

Within the past decade, the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs partnered with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation to conduct a never-before-seen study on lawyer impairment.[4] Results were, at minimum, alarming: of the 12,825 licensed and employed attorneys who participated in the survey, 20.6% of respondents’ scores indicated problematic drinking.[5] Further, 28% of respondents indicated some level of depression, 19% indicated some level of anxiety, and 11.5% reported having suicidal thoughts at some point in their career.[6] In sum, the full report noted that

Attorneys experience problematic drinking that is hazardous, harmful, or otherwise consistent with alcohol use disorders at a higher rate than other professional populations. Mental health distress is also significant. These data underscore the need for greater resources for lawyer assistance programs, and also the expansion of available attorney-specific prevention and treatment interventions.[7]

To address these issues, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) commissioned a task force through the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (“CoLAP”), the National Organization of Bar Counsel (“NoBC”), and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APLR). The result? Organizations produced some amazing resources on wellness.[8] Wellness efforts have not simply remained at the national level; states nationwide have strived to improve the mental health of their attorneys. Jurisdictions nationwide have interpreted their Rules on Professional Conduct to make lawyer wellness a condition precedent to competency.[9] Additionally, Vermont now requires at least one credit of Attorney Wellness per MCLE reporting period.[10] And yet, the problem remains. According to a 2023 study, 66% of respondents reported that being in the legal profession has harmed their mental health to some degree, and 46% of respondents reported thoughts of leaving the profession altogether as a result of stress or burnout.[11]

The data is conclusive: mental health and substance abuse issues among lawyers exist. Lawyers have immense responsibilities consisting of long hours, vast amounts of legal research and writing, expectations of remaining up to date with statutes and regulations, and both ethical and professional duties to their clients and coworkers.[12] These responsibilities are no small feat. Unfortunately, with these crucial responsibilities comes a great level of stigma; lawyers have, and still do, struggle with openly discussing mental health issues/crises out of fear that their colleagues or clients will judge or lose trust in them.[13] However, concerns and privacy regarding mental health issues and the law does not begin when an attorney is faced with these responsibilities—it can begin as soon as a law student first steps foot on campus.

Being a law student is no easy feat. It involves competition, composure, the Socratic Method, and learning a new way of thinking (and writing). A law student also faces the pressures of social circles, class rankings, academic achievements, journal, and extracurricular involvement. Moreover, a law student must deal with the obscure usage of terminology and acronyms, along with the fear that others will be able to identify exactly what that law student doesn’t know. Law school is an entirely new universe for many individuals that decide to pursue this advanced degree, especially first-generation law students who have had no previous exposure to the legal field. Law school, by its very definition, is stressful. The stigma regarding mental health has been so pervasive that, in 2015, the ABA House of Delegates urged bar licensing entities to reconsider character and fitness questions relating to mental health histories and diagnoses.[14]

Simply put, to be a good lawyer, one must be a healthy lawyer. As shown above, the legal profession is already struggling to maintain public confidence within the profession and resultingly is addressing how to reduce the level of toxicity that has allowed mental health and substance use disorders to fester among our colleagues.[15] Not surprisingly, law schools are now also seeking to prioritize mental health among 1L’s too.[16]

As established above, mental health issues pervasively exist in the legal profession. Unfortunately, there is also an ever-looming stigma regarding mental health and the legal profession. But what can be done? What can we do? In this blog series, we will be discussing the eight pillars of wellbeing—as applied to the legal profession. We are Stephanie E. Kupferman, an assistant professor of law teaching in the externship program, and Colette C. Schmidt, assistant director of career services, and we call ourselves the “Ladies of Professional Development”. We are both former practicing attorneys who are here to provide you with advice and tips based on not only our experiences, but also science.

First up? Sleep and exercise! It’s no surprise that exercise is considered to be one of the most beneficial activities that people can engage in.[17] The National Institutes of Health conducted a study examining the gene activity, protein alterations, immune cell function, metabolite levels, and numerous other measures of cell and tissue function, which allows researchers to study the longer-term adaptations of the body to exercise. The Mayo Clinic found that there are seven benefits of regular physical activity: 1) “[e]xercise controls weight;” 2) “[e]xercise combats health conditions and diseases;” 3) “[e]xercise improves mood;” 4) “[e]xercise boosts energy;” 5) “[e]xercise promotes better sleep;” 6) “[e]xercise puts the spark back into your sex life;” and 7) “[e]xercise can be fun [and] social.”[18] Need we say more?

Further, that foggy feeling you get after a poor night’s sleep impacts your brain function.[19] Getting enough sleep is vital for “‘brain plasticity,’ or the brain’s ability to adapt to input.”[20] If you don’t sleep enough, you not only can’t process what you’ve learned during the day, but you also have more trouble remembering it in the future.[21] “Researchers also believe that sleep may promote the removal of waste products from brain cells – something that occurs less efficiently when the brain is awake.”[22]

So, how can you set yourself up for success? Get a good night’s sleep. Students, please sleep enough to “help stay focused, improve concentration, and improve academic performance.”[23] Failure to get a good night’s sleep can cause incommensurate reactions to a myriad of situations and particularly stressful situations. If you are debating between reading that last case and getting some rest, get some rest and email your professor.

TRIGGER WARNING: In our next blog post, we will be discussing the importance of a good diet. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, please refer to the following website: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/ and consider these following helplines:

ANAD Helpline:1 (888) 375-7767
Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm CT
National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline:1 (866) 662-1235
Monday-Friday, 9am-7pm ET
Diabulimia Helpline: 1 (425) 985-3635

If you have any questions or comments, then please feel free to contact us at skupferman@vermontlaw.edu or cschmidt@vermontlaw.edu.

[1] David Jaffe et al., “It is Okay to Not Be Okay”: The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being, 60 U. Louisville L. Rev. 439 (2022).

[2] Report and Recommendations of the NYSBA Task Force on Attorney Well-Being This is Us: From Striving Alone to Thriving Together, 70 (Oct. 2021).

[3] See generally Anne Brafford, Well-Being Toolkit for Layers & Legal Employers (2018).

[4] Study on Lawyer Impairment, American Bar Association (Jan. 18, 2019), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/research/colap_hazelden_lawyer_study/.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Patrick Krill, The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys, J. of Addiction Med. 10, 46 – 52 (Jan./Feb. 2016).

[8] The ABA’s Mental Health & Wellness resource library contains materials ranging from how to take a real vacation to mental health first aid to coping with eating disorders and beyond.

[9] See ABA Model Rules on Professional Responsibility; Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct available at: https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/sites/default/files/documents/VermontRulesofProfessionalConduct.pdf. Note: every state has some permutation of competency definition of which lawyer wellness is integral.

[10] See Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, Vermont Judiciary, https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/attorneys/mandatory-continuing-legal-education (last visited July 11, 2024).

[11] Today’s Lawyers & Mental Health: Mental Awareness Month, Thomson Reuters (May 16, 2024), https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/todays-lawyers-and-mental-health/#:~:text=It%20goes%20without%20saying%20that,juggling%20multiple%20cases%20at%20once.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] See Mental Health Character & Fitness Questions for Bar Admission, Am. Bar Ass’n, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/disabilityrights/resources/character-and-fitness-mh/ (last visited July 11, 2024).

[15] See https://www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistnace/task_force_report/

[16] See also Law Deans Clearinghouse for Student Mental Health, The Ass’n of Am. Law Schools, https://www.aals.org/mental-health-clearinghouse/ (last visited July 11, 2024). In a 2021 survey, almost 70% of respondents (law students) indicated mental health issues. Id.

[17] See Understanding How Exercise Affects the Body, Nat’l Institutes of Health (May 14, 2024), https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/understanding-how-exercise-affects-body.

[18] Mayo Clinic Staff, Exercise: 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity, Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389 (last visited July 11, 2024).

[19] The Science of Sleep: Understanding What Happens When You Sleep, Johns Hopskins Medicine, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-science-of-sleep-understanding-what-happens-when-you-sleep (last visited July 11, 2024).

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Sleep & Health, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/sleep.htm#:~:text=Students%20should%20get%20the%20proper,poor%20mental%20health%2C%20and%20injuries (last visited July 11, 2024).

July 16, 2024 by hami3258

Jamie Abrams

Inclusive Socratic Teaching: Why Law Schools Need It and How to Achieve It

By: Jamie R. Abrams, Professor of Law & Director of Legal Rhetoric Program,
American University, Washington College of Law

As scholars and teachers working in professional identity formation, blog readers may be interested to check out my recent book, titled Inclusive Socratic Teaching: Why Law Schools Need It and How to Achieve It, published by the University of California Press. The book issues a call to action squarely centered in the Socratic classrooms that still dominate so much of legal education’s curricular core. The book’s premise is that existing legal education reforms, including ABA Standard 303(b) governing professional identity formation, are happening around the architectural and structural core of Socratic classrooms.

The book traces enduring scholarly critiques over the past fifty years of Socratic teaching’s professor-centered and power-centered approaches. It layers onto these critical perspectives the alarming wellness concerns facing modern law students and lawyers that scholars, such as the Holloran Center’s Co-Director Jerry Organ, have been documenting for years. With this body of literature outlined, the book ponders why we continue to innovate in legal education around the dominant Socratic classrooms. It notes how these traditional classrooms are often in tension with professional identity formation to the extent they put students in competition to be racked and stacked against each other, skewing students’ self-efficacy and creating a narrow band of skills and values rewarded in the classroom.

Notably, the book does not abandon the Socratic method, though, for reasons of pragmatism, economics, and institutional will. Rather, it seeks to build shared pedagogical values that catalyze these classrooms to align with other institutional reforms. The book therein proposes a set of concrete pedagogical values that can govern Socratic classrooms: student-centered, skills-centered, client-centered, and community-centered teaching techniques.

It then provides a roadmap of how to implement these shared pedagogical values. Simple techniques, like shifting from “what are the facts of the case?” and “what was the holding?” to an exploration of who hired a lawyer, why they hired a lawyer, and the skills and values deployed by that lawyer can transform the Socratic classroom to be more skills, student, client, and community focused. The book sketches out techniques, using existing student-teacher ratios and casebooks, to position students as professionals navigating a string of cases on behalf of a host of diverse clients in a range of communities. While Socratic classrooms might not be the primary site for cultivating professional identity formation, these pedagogical techniques sensitize students to professional skills and values in ways that align with deeper dives into professional identity formation happening in specialized classes, professional responsibility classes, experiential courses, simulations courses, and clinics. I warmly invite this community’s ongoing dialogue with these ideas. I hope this book offers a springboard into holistic institutional discussions about the pedagogical values that shape our institutions and the arc of student development from first year to graduation.

Please feel free to reach out to me at jamieabrams@wcl.american.edu if you have any questions or comments.

Jamie R. Abrams is Professor of Law and Director of the Legal Rhetoric Program at American University Washington College of Law. She has published scholarly articles about legal education pedagogy and won numerous awards for pedagogy innovations.

June 21, 2024 by hami3258

Uncategorized

A Student Reflection on Professional Identity Formation at Regent University School of Law

By: Diana McBride Bloomquist, 2L

Professional identity formation is discerning what kind of lawyer you want to be, what motivates you, and why you want to practice law. Coming into law school, I was unaware of how crucial it is to develop a strong professional identity, and I am so grateful for Regent University’s emphasis on it. From the first week of classes, our professors impressed upon us how easy it is for lawyers to make professional decisions that directly conflict with personal values and beliefs and how this can result in deep-rooted unhappiness. I did not know that cognitive dissonance flows from making decisions inconsistent with intrinsic values and that our moral compass keeps track of those—regardless of whether we are aware of it. I learned that this process is subtle and that seemingly minor compromises, where an action conflicts with our values, can lead one to integrate a new identity over time. Regent combats this moral drift by placing professional identity formation at the forefront of a student’s legal education. Establishing your purpose for practicing law and determining why you are being called to serve in this way should inform and influence the decisions you make during your time in school and beyond. I am now convinced that developing self-awareness and sensitivity to one’s moral compass—along with relying on trusted mentors—provides the best insurance of integrity (acting in accord with core values) versus disintegration of those values over time by seeking extrinsic motivations like money or prestige. I learned early that adhering to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct alone will not protect me from moral drift and the inevitable unhappiness that results from the pursuit of extrinsic values. Instead, forming an identity that prioritizes core values has already led me to anticipate practicing in a way that may be challenging but will be fulfilling.

Regent Law’s Center for Professional Formation focuses on ensuring that we, as students, are given many opportunities to form our professional identity and consider how it will impact our future practice. Through the Center for Professional Formation, students can receive an alumni mentor and access to programs that direct us on a path that keeps us focused on our intrinsic core values. In line with these goals, the law faculty has developed required 1L courses such as Foundations of Law and Foundations of Practice. Foundations of Law explores the nature of law by assigning readings of classical texts, including Aquinas and Blackstone, and more contemporary and contentious issues, then facilitating open discussion in class that returns to the core values foundational to our legal system. Foundations of Practice includes readings and discussions with lawyers in various practice areas, such as Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Professor Robert Cochran, who believe in professional identity formation and help students connect the ethical and moral decisions inherent in law practice.

Additionally, the Center for Professional Formation ensures that each student has a faculty mentor with whom we must meet as part of the Foundations of Practice Curriculum to develop a “Discernment Plan.” The Discernment Plan is the primary product of our Foundations of Practice course, and we are told it is meant to function as a living document that we can regularly revise as we move through law school under the same faculty mentor. The Discernment Plan explores a student’s gifts, potential areas for growth, and ultimately, the areas of law in which they may be the most successful. Due to Regent’s focus on professional identity, my idea of success has shifted. I believe I will be most successful in a field where my gifts can help others through law. I have also learned that identifying my gifts can involve a willingness to face fears and explore whether I can do things I thought were not possible. For instance, when I told my faculty mentor of my fear of public speaking, he encouraged me to lean into the discomfort of participating in our 1L Moot Court Competition. I had mentioned this fear in my draft of the Discernment Plan and, in retrospect, I am glad my mentor challenged me rather than allowing my fear to keep me from exploring potential strengths.

Aside from its commitment to professional identity formation through the Center for Professional Formation, Regent has begun integrating professional identity formation into doctrinal classes. For example, in an exercise in Civil Procedure, we were assigned a reading and reflection response on a hypothetical professional identity scenario, which we then discussed in class. The exercise revealed the numerous interests beyond the client’s best interest that influenced a lawyer’s advice to a client on whether to file a suit in state or federal court. Before analyzing this hypothetical question and answering the reflection questions, I was unaware that a lawyer’s interests could override the client’s best interests. In many of our required 1L classes, professors remind us that the individuals in assigned cases are real people, not just fictional characters meant to illustrate a legal concept.

Regent has done an excellent job encouraging reflection on forming our professional identity—both in courses specifically designed to do so and in other doctrinal courses through purposeful exercises. Professional identity formation influences every aspect of the education Regent has to offer and has shown me that my primary goals in practicing law are to embrace growth, even through challenging myself to withstand discomfort as I did with oral advocacy, and to serve future clients without sacrificing core values.

Diana McBride stands in front of a brick wall.

I am a rising 2L at Regent University School of Law. I currently serve as a law school representative on the Council of Graduate Students and as the Vice-President of the Women’s Law Association.

May 21, 2024 by hami3258

Uncategorized

Embracing Professional Identity Formation

By: Ruwayda Issa, University of St. Thomas School of Law 1L

I was very nervous during the Muslim Law Student Association (MLSA) Iftar Dinner held at the University of St. Thomas School of Law this spring. My 1L year was full of twists and turns including a change of professors (my Torts professor accepted an appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court in the middle of the semester). Leading up to the Iftar dinner, I volunteered to be the moderator for the career panel during the event. I sat as an audience member throughout the past year hearing from various panels’ moderator and attorneys at different law school events. Now that I had an opportunity to serve as a moderator, I was nervous and focused on asking the right questions and keeping the audience engaged.

The panel conversation had a focus on professional identity formation as both attorneys are Muslim and persons of color who have faced adversity. I enjoyed the panel, and it provided me with a sense of clarity. I am a Muslim woman wearing a hijab that has juggled showing my different levels of identities in law school and law settings. I didn’t have a Muslim female attorney to look up to who could teach me how I should dress in professional settings. One ironic moment during the panel involved panelist Amran Farah, a Muslim female attorney, when she spoke about how she makes sure to wear a neutral-colored hijab if she is wearing a bold color for her blouse or blazer. I realized that I had employed that exact same approach myself for years, and I was already forming my professional identity in a way very similar to other female Muslim attorneys.

This event put my entire year into perspective and reminded me that I was on the right path. I look forward to planning next year’s Iftar Dinner with the rest of the MLSA board. Forming a professional identity is a continuing process, and learning from those who have helped pave the way is part of that beautiful, complicated process.

Ruwayda Issa is a rising 2L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

May 14, 2024 by hami3258

David Grenardo

What About Us? How Law Schools Can Help Historically Underrepresented Law Students Develop Their Professional Identities

In a forthcoming article for Mercer Law Review, Holloran Center Associate Director David Grenardo presents a critically important perspective on the ways that historically underrepresented students face obstacles to their professional identity formation. Grenardo provides context around why these issues can seem insurmountable to staff and faculty, and explains why it is crucial to tackle them head-on: structural biases in law school stall the academic and professional development of historically underrepresented students. He closes with practical, solution-oriented suggestions around mentorship, academic support, and experiential learning that would create an environment in which all students are welcome.

The article abstract follows. You can also read a draft of the entire article on SSRN.

The revised ABA Standards require law schools to provide substantial opportunities for law students to develop their professional identity. An individual’s professional identity as a lawyer consists of one’s personal identities integrated into who they are as a professional. Gaining a professional identity means going from an outsider to an insider in that profession, and a law student’s professional identity formation refers to the process of evolving from law student to lawyer. Law schools must dive into the murky waters of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation because that is where our historically underrepresented law students are, trying to become professionals in a system that sees them as the other, different, and outsiders.

Part I of the Article briefly defines professional identity. Part II sets forth an overview of the many obstacles historically underrepresented law students face—including, but not limited to, the historical exclusion of underrepresented individuals from law school and the legal profession, imposter syndrome, bias, microaggressions, wealth and education disparities—in developing their professional identity. Part III provides a summary of tangible solutions that law schools may employ to address those obstacles and help those law students develop their professional identity. This Article concludes that it is critical for law schools to intervene to ensure historically underrepresented law students can properly develop their professional identity.

Please reach out to David Grenardo at gren2380@stthomas.edu with any questions or comments.

David Grenardo is a Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

March 22, 2024 by hami3258

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