Reed Smith Takes Aim at Mental Health 'Stigma' with New Task Force
The initiative, which comes as firms look for ways to tackle a mental health crisis in the profession, is an offshoot of the firm's business inclusion group for people with disabilities.
January 15, 2020 at 09:00 AM
4 minute read
Reed Smith has launched a new task force for attorneys and staff to focus on mental health issues, the firm announced Wednesday.
The new mental health task force is an initiative of LEADRS, a business inclusion group at Reed Smith for people with disabilities and part of the firm's broader diversity initiative.
Kimberly Gold, a partner in Reed Smith's New York office, co-founded the task force and will serve as its first chair. In an interview, she said the drive to start the group stemmed from personal experience and a desire to speak out.
"Early in my career, I was in a situation where I could have used some mental health resources, but due to the stigma, I felt like I couldn't even ask for help," she said. "I wanted to change that paradigm, and [the mental health task force] will further address mental health issues faced by Reed Smith lawyers and professional staff."
Gold added that it was important for both attorneys and staff at the firm to participate in the task force. Since it was announced internally, it has received an "overwhelmingly positive response," and more than 100 people across various positions and offices have joined the group, she said.
The task force includes five advisory teams focusing on different aspects of mental health in the legal profession. A stigma and culture team will focus on increasing awareness of mental health issues at the firm and promote help-seeking behaviors; the policies and practices team will review how current firm policies can better serve those with mental health and substance abuse issues; the education and resources team will develop programming about mental health issues; the mental health and substance use team will focus specifically on substance use issues both within the firm as well as providing support for struggling family members; and the outreach team with look for opportunities to collaborate internally and externally.
Gold said that much of the work is already in motion, and the task force is already working to team up with internal Reed Smith affinity groups as well as clients and external groups. The task force is also planning programming for the firm's mental health awareness week in March, and she said the group is also interested in exploring ways in which it can de-stigmatize mental health issues in the legal industry.
"At some point in everyone's life, it's likely that everyone will have to deal with some sort of mental health or substance use issues," she said. "We hope to eventually reach a preventative capacity, and Reed Smith's leadership is fully behind the effort."
Reed Smith's move comes at a time when more and more people in the legal profession are raising awareness about mental health issues in the industry, as documented recently in Law.com's Minds over Matters series. Gold said that when her colleague Mark Goldstein wrote about his experience battling depression while working at a large firm, it served as another catalyst to get the task force going.
"There's been a movement over the past five to 10 years of people being more vocal about their mental health struggles, including within the legal profession," she said. "Mark going public last year showed tremendous bravery in doing so."
Gold added that Reed Smith has been wholly supportive as its attorneys have championed mental health issues in the legal profession.
"[The task force] fits within Reed Smith's broader focus on diversity and inclusion, and we've made this particular issue a priority at the firm because we understand how tough it can be," she said. "We have a caring culture and value our people, and [the task force] is a response to that. I'm really excited about all of the initiatives and the opportunity to challenge the stigma around mental health issues."
|Read More
'Scared. Ashamed. Crippled.': How One Lawyer Overcame Living With Depression in Big Law
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBig Law Communications, Media Attorneys Brace for Changes Under Trump
4 minute readPolsinelli's Revenue and Profits Surge Amid Partner De-Equitizations, Retirements
5 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Daniel Habib to Serve as Next Attorney-in-Charge of NY Federal Defender Appeals Unit
- 2Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege in the Modern Age of Communications
- 3High-Profile Sidley M&A Partner Heads to Covington
- 4Stars and Gripes: Firms Need a 'Superstar Culture' to Crack the U.S. Market
- 5BCLP Exploring Merger Prospects as Profitability Lags, Partnership Shrinks
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250