New Jersey (NJ) Competence Issues CLE Course Catalog

Experts differ on whether lawyers are more prone to depression than others who work in equally high-stress occupations such as doctors. But one thing is clear: the stigma associated with depression is one of the reasons lawyers may not get help when they need it. Is an ancient virus the reason humans are susceptible to substance use disorders? How has modern medicine changed the way we treat substance use disorders? This program answers these important questions so that today's lawyers have the tools they need to help themselves or a colleague.

The workforce has changed significantly in recent years in more ways than we ever imagined. Among these changes, employee expectations have evolved and leaders are losing touch with many legal professionals suffering from burnout. It is essential that company leaders learn how to engage their team, manage burnout more effectively, and most importantly reflect on how to keep their employees happy, as this has a direct impact on financial success. Learning how to pick up on mental health signals in the current working environment and gaining the tools to help your teams work more mindfully is key to moving forward in these unprecedented times.

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.

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.