MENU OF CLE COURSES
Take your Continuing Legal Education to the Next Level with Interactive Mindfulness Meditation
Our fully accredited CLE program runs for 60 minutes and qualifies for 1 hour of Ethics, Elimination of Bias, Substance Use, or Mental Health CLE credits – depending on jurisdiction. Contact us today to discuss your organization's needs and schedule a customized live program.
MINDFUL ETHICS CLE
How Mindfulness Can Help You Avoid Legal Burnout, Continue to Competently Perform Legal Services, and Remain Ethically Compliant
As attorneys, chronic stress is often a part of our job. If we do not effectively manage chronic stress, however, it has the potential to cripple our productivity levels. Chronic stress can also make it physically, mentally, and emotionally impossible to advocate for our clients and communicate with them effectively and competently. Further, we run the risk of violating the rules of professional conduct, such as Rules 1.1, 1.3, and 1.4, which we will discuss during this webinar.
Instituting even one or two minutes of meditation and mindfulness into our daily routines can have immediate and far-reaching benefits in our professional and personal lives. Become your best self now. Join us as we demystify meditation and focus on the basics of mindfulness: what it is and is not, how to do it, and how to maximize its benefits.
We will delve into specific methods of integrating mindfulness into your day-to-day law practice. According to Professor Peter H. Huang of University of Colorado Law School, “Law students, lawyers, and law professors should try practicing mindfulness to see if they improve their legal decision-making, ethics and leadership.”
You will be empowered to:
• Protect yourself from burnout
• Improve focus and boost your overall productivity and efficiency
• Curb anxiety and stress through quick, effective “spot treatments”
• Use mindfulness to enhance ethical and reflective decision-making as opposed to acting rashly and later feeling regret for poorly chosen words and actions
ELIMINATION OF BIAS CLE
Learn Mindfulness to Curtail Implicit Bias and Make Ethical Decisions
Join Cindy Sharp and Becky Howlett for this timely educational webinar as they unpack implicit bias—what it is, why it matters, and reveal strategies to become aware of our own unconscious biases and ultimately enhance mindful decision-making. Overall, this program will support your ability to recognize these biases and implement strategies to curtail their harmful effects in your legal practice.
Implicit bias is universal—everyone has it! Yet, these biases are uniquely our own as they are shaped by our individual life experiences. Although we all have them, we are generally unaware of their presence and effects, meaning implicit biases can negatively impact our decisions without our knowing. Research has shown that mindfulness meditation may effectively reduce implicit bias at the individual level.
Certified Meditation Instructor and Attorney Becky Howlett will teach and lead mindfulness practices throughout this session designed to promote awareness of your own biases. Co-Presenter and Veteran Attorney Cynthia Sharp will join with Becky in sharing their own perspectives as well as viewpoints and experiences of others in the legal community. The speakers will delve into why words DO matter and discuss commonly held harmful assumptions related to diverse groups of people.
You will also learn:
How to use mindfulness tools to develop deeper awareness of implicit bias and to counter insensitive attitudes
Specific steps that you can take IMMEDIATELY to reduce the ill effects of implicit bias in the legal setting
Concepts that will help identify and address unconscious bias when dealing with colleagues, clients, and others
How enhanced cultural competency will help any attorney both serve justice and advocate more effectively
SUBSTANCE USE CLE
Cheers to a Mindful New Year: How to Overcome Substance Use Disorder and Avoid Legal Ethics Issues
The ABA and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s (ABA/HBFF) groundbreaking 2016 study confirmed devastatingly high rates of both mental health concerns and substance abuse amongst lawyers. For example, between 21-36% of attorneys qualify as problem drinkers—3-5x higher than the general population. Moreover, 25-30% of attorney disciplinary matters, 60% of all malpractice claims, and 85% of all trust-fund violation cases were caused by a lawyer’s substance-use disorder issues.
Even though the problem is pervasive in the legal community, most lawyers aren’t equipped to seek help if in distress or to have sensitive conversations with those who need help. In fact, the ABA/HBFF’s 2016 study indicated that 93% of attorneys did not receive help for alcohol or other drug abuse. As we struggle to cope with life in post-COVID-19 world, lawyers are particularly vulnerable to worsened mental health and substance abuse issues.
In this eye-opening program, veteran attorney Cindy Sharp will share her struggles with alcohol, reveal how she got sober, and how she has remained alcohol free for over 11 years. Attorney and certified meditation instructor Becky Howlett will share her perspectives on the issues and provide practical tips for reducing stress and anxiety in your professional practice and personal life.
In this timely program, you will learn:
What is a Highly Functioning Alcoholic Attorney (HFAA)
Why we must eliminate the stigma surrounding substance use disorder
How to detect the warning signs of impairment
Ethical rules to consider: MRPC 1.1 - Competence and MRPC 1.3 - Diligence
Ethical duties of the law partner of an impaired attorney
Treatment options and other resources to consider
Mindfulness as a tool for resilience, stress release, and relapse prevention
MENTAL HEALTH CLE
The Mindful Approach to Addressing Mental Health Issues in the Legal Field
Join Attorneys Becky Howlett and Cindy Sharp for this timely webinar as they explore the prevalence of burnout, stress, depression, and anxiety in the legal profession.
The landmark 2016 study on lawyer impairment found that attorneys have disproportionately high rates of mental health concerns compared with the general population. For example, 45.7% of attorneys self-reported experiencing symptoms of depression and 61% for anxiety. Tragically, 63% of attorneys did not seek help for their mental health concerns. The study confirmed the chilling effect of mental health stigma, as one of the most frequently cited reasons for not getting help was attorneys did not want others to find out they had a “problem” and may need assistance.
The objective of this program is to raise awareness about the nature of mental health distress in the legal setting, to challenge the biases and stigma that surround those concerns, and to motivate those who are suffering to take advantage of available resources.
Certified Meditation Instructor Becky Howlett will teach and lead mindfulness practices throughout this session designed to help lawyers learn how to cope with stress, depression, and anxiety.
Topics include:
High prevalence of mental health issues among lawyers
Barriers to seeking treatment
Ways to support colleagues who may be in distress
Ethical implications of poorly managed stress
Overcoming stigma in the legal community
SECONDARY TRAUMA CLE
How Secondary Trauma Affects Attorney Mental Health
Attorneys often represent trauma victims of abuse, crime or other adversity. Lawyers, staff and judges alike may be at high risk of developing compassion fatigue as they are exposed to emotionally charged stories and situations, as well as gruesome and disturbing evidence. Symptoms of vicarious trauma include burnout, PTSD, irritability, difficulties with sleep and concentration, as well as diminished pleasure and interest in activities.
Join Cindy Sharp and Becky Howlett for this timely educational webinar as they explore secondary trauma in the legal field. Case studies of legal professionals who have experienced the adverse effects of vicarious trauma are included. Certified Meditation Instructor and Attorney Becky Howlett will teach and lead mindfulness practices throughout this session.
Attendees will learn:
How to identify risk factors of secondary trauma
Common signs and symptoms of vicarious traumatization
Ethical Implications of secondary trauma: Analysis of MRPC 1.1 - Competence, MRPC 1.3 - Diligence, MRPC 1.4 - Communication, MRPC 8.4 - Misconduct
Specific steps you can take IMMEDIATELY to manage and avoid the ill effects of compassion fatigue
Strategies to implement a trauma-informed law practice
Tips on how to approach a colleague who is exhibiting “the signs”
How to use mindfulness tools to develop deeper awareness about secondary trauma and reduce stress