Maintaining healthy balance and overall well-being has long been a struggle for lawyers with demanding work schedules, complex and often contentious files, and clients whose legal problems and associated worry can overwhelm those advocating on their behalf. In a turbulent 18 months of disrupted routines, social distance and pandemic-fueled anxiety, lawyers found critical solace, strength and coping strategies in their Canadian Bar Association community.
The CBA and its Branches have been pioneers in destigmatizing mental health in the profession and promoting lawyers’ well-being by providing cutting-edge programs and resources tailored specifically to them. Case in point: the award-winning Mindful Lawyer CPD Series which has become a go-to source for lawyers looking to build resilience and augment essential time management, relaxation, and emotional intelligence skills.
Ongoing efforts to anticipate and address the evolving wellness needs of today’s busy lawyers tackling competing priorities and an ever-changing practice environment have produced expanded offerings and new avenues of support for CBA members.
The CBA’s self-directed online learning program, Mental Health and Well-being in the Legal Profession assists legal professionals in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health and addiction issues and offers proactive well-being tactics as well as treatment and recovery strategies for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders.
The opportunity to engage with and learn from others with shared challenges or similar lived experience has proven invaluable to lawyers from coast to coast. With the CBA’s Well-Being Hour, members are able to access, at no cost and on demand, candid and constructive conversations on the current challenges confronting legal professionals.
For targeted advice, CBA members can submit questions anonymously to Dear Advy and receive sage advice and sound suggestions from an expert columnist to navigate anything and everything related to well-being, dealing with stress and succeeding under pressure.
Archived videos on topics ranging from adjusting to a new normal, enhancing mental fitness, enjoying guided meditation, and accessing advice specific to lawyers with parental or caregiver responsibilities, are coupled with camaraderie-building community events and mindfulness exercise on the OBA Wellness Hub to make it easy to find the support you need right when you need it. As BC member Nancy Ling attests, “The CBA makes me a more mindful lawyer and practitioner.”
Lawyers must be ever vigilant in fostering their own well-being in order to be the best advocates for the clients and causes they serve, and as members of the CBA’s empathetic and inclusive community, you never have to make those vital strides in self-care alone.