The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division’s Health and Wellness Committee (formerly the Quality of Life Committee) has launched a year-long initiative expanding on its previous Health and Wellness Month programming to improve the well-being of its members throughout the year. Keep an eye out for weekly wellness tips on social media, free monthly lunchtime wellness CLEs, and an updated website where you can find articles, webinars, attorney profiles, and other resources to meet your wellness needs. We will also be partnering with businesses that provide wellness-related services and products to offer discounts for YLD members through our new member-benefits program. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram to stay up to date on these exciting events!
The YLD will also be working with The Florida Bar Board of Governors, President Higer, and the new Florida Bar Special Committee on Mental Health and Wellness of Florida Lawyers. The Special Committee will commence its work immediately and is scheduled to conclude its work with a report/proposed set of recommendations presented to President Higer and The Florida Bar Board of Governors by the end of this Bar year (June 2018).
The mission of the Special Committee, as approved by The Florida Bar Board of Governors, is:
To implement The Florida Bar’s Strategic Planning Priority # 5 focusing on the mental health and wellness of Florida lawyers, which includes an educational component to:
1) destigmatize mental illness in the legal community (lawyers and judges);
2) educate employers, judges and lawyers how to identify and address mental health illness of Florida lawyers and create “best practices” on how to address mental health issues;
3) educate lawyers about the benefits of balancing personal life and career obligations;
4) provide wellness programs to provide Florida lawyers with healthy strategies to deal with the pressures of their practices to enhance the mental health and wellness of Florida lawyers; and
5) create a special, inter-disciplinary committee to study and improve the Florida Bar’s rules and programming related to mental health and wellness of Florida lawyers and to ensure that Florida Bar members (including judges) are aware of mental health issues and are able to access those services needed.
As always, do not forget that if you are struggling with depression (whether situational, periodic, or constant), anxiety, bipolar disorder, or other mental-health related concerns, the Florida Lawyers Assistance Program is a free and confidential resource for you. The FLA can also assist attorneys and other legal professionals to successfully navigate difficult transition periods in their lives (new jobs, divorce, children), or cope with the illness or loss of a loved one. Check it out on behalf of yourself or someone you care about – http://fla-lap.org/.