After a year of remote work and isolation, law firm lawyers are feeling the effects of COVID. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Mark Yacano sits down with Dr. Rachel Fry to discuss the impact of COVID on lawyers looking at how junior associates have struggled to transition into practice and older associates have experienced extreme burn out. She shares her observations and encourages lawyers to get passed the stigma and seek help.

Erasing the Stigma—Dr. Rachel Fry (A Year of COVID)

There are myriad diets and nutrition program as well as fitness programs in the market today—but which ones to try? In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Mark Yacano sits down with Roxie Jones, founder of BodyROX, to discuss nutrition and strength training. Roxie explores the elements of a balanced diet, supplements you should consider taking and equipment you should have to work out from home.

Erasing The Stigma--Roxie Jones

When her son suffered a traumatic brain injury, Francine Tone began studying brain science and discovered (through her research) how stress truly impacts lawyers. Francine shares with Mark Yacano her findings and tools for understanding what stress does to the brain and how to manage it.

Erasing The Stigma--Francine Tone

“Thoughts are not facts.” Chelsy Castro’s interest in neuroscience and psychology led her for the legal profession to helping legal professionals develop healthy coping mechanisms to overcome the thinking errors we all project. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Mark Yacano chats with Chelsy who provides examples of our flawed logic and explores how to overcome these hurdles.

Erasing The Stigma--Chelsy Castro

We work hard to appear strong by putting on armor, but in reality, we are much stronger once we drop the armor and own our narrative. That’s what Niti Nadarajah has learned since her “aha” moment of realization that she was holding on to a lot and needed to let go. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, she shares with Mark Yacano details of her personal journey and why she started writing about her life on LinkedIn.

Erasing The Stigma--Niti Nadarajah

Lawyers often approach the practice of law as a solitary task, internalizing their challenges, stressing over their workload and giving in to self-inflicted beliefs. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Angela Han shares with Mark Yacano why burnout is so prevalent in the legal profession and how perception skews reality—and increases our stress levels.

Erasing The Stigma--Angela Han

For Jay Williams, a mindful sales leader, thriving means figuring out what you value most and making sure the company you work for is giving you everything you need to get there. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, he explains what thriving in the workplace looks like as he chats with Mark Yacano.

Erasing The Stigma--Jay Williams

Kristen Uhl Hulse, Senior Director of Attorney Development & Recruiting for Snell & Wilmer, believes there are new ways of developing young lawyers in this day and age of remote work. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma with Mark Yacano, she discusses reimagining mentoring, using strengths to build self-awareness and finding joy in your work by improving your mental health practices.

Erasing The Stigma--Kristin Uhl Hulse

Men’s mental health is often a taboo topic in society. Michael Kasdan has experienced firsthand how nerve wrecking and embarrassing it can be to feel not right. Since taking his first steps in his mental health journey, Michael has learned he isn’t alone and that the stigma around males owning their mental health is long from erased. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, he shares his story, experiences and advocacy with Mark Yacano.

Erasing The Stigma--Michael Kasdan

Burnout is a very real thing whether you are an associate or a partner. Career coach and former lawyer Annie Little knows firsthand and now helps lawyers navigate through the symptoms. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, she discusses the systematic causes of burnout and gets to the root of the problem with Mark Yacano.

Erasing The Stigma--Annie Little

By taking several small, simple steps, you can become happier in your legal career—just follow the lessons Nora Riva Bergman and Chelsy Castro share in their new book, 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers. Mark Yacano explores some of the steps he found particularly impactful—including getting clear on your why—with Nora and Chelsy in this episode of Erasing the Stigma.

Erasing The Stigma--Nora Bergman and Chelsy Castro

We’re only at the start of our mental health awareness journey—which is evident if you look at the results of the ALM 2022 Mental Health Survey. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Michael Kasdan and Gina Passarella join Mark Yacano to review the survey’s findings and discuss the current state of mental health in the legal industry and workplace.

Erasing The Stigma--Michael Kasdan & Gina Passarella

When Dan Lukasik was introduced to St. Luke’s Mission, he hoped this would be a special place where he could find deeper meaning in his life. A simple ask to become a mentor was the answer. The relationship that he has development with a boy named George has changed Dan’s life. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Dan tells Mark Yacano the story of his relationship with George and explores how seemingly innocent acts can help combat mental health.

Erasing The Stigma--Dan Lukasik

When Libby Coreno was a young lawyer, she realized she was suffering mentally and emotionally in her career. She also noticed that her colleagues were, too. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Libby shares with Mark Yacano her personal journey and how she found her voice to speak up about mental health and well-being. She also discusses how she began the Humanized Lawyer Project.

Erasing The Stigma--Libby Coreno

Paula Davis, like so many, experienced burnout while practicing law, which led her to leave the practice and explore new avenues for helping people. She found her passion and turned it into a practice of helping law firms and organizations cope with stress and build resilient teams. Paula shares her ABC framework with Mark Yacano and digs into how to cultivate office relationships in a hybrid world.

Erasing The Stigma--Paula Davis

What role does sleep play in your performance at work? How about in your mental health? Dr. Jessica Payne, sleep and stress neuroscience expert, talks to Mark Yacano about the power of sleep, why we need it, how it impacts our mental health and the importance of the power nap.

Erasing The Stigma--Dr. Jessica Payne

Optimal performance doesn’t just apply to athletes on a sports field. Intellectual athletes need to operate at their own peak levels of performance, too. Dr. Brian Yu shares with Mark Yacano the ACT therapy approach for accepting, acknowledging and working through problematic behaviors. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, they discuss how these techniques can be applied to build resilience at work.

Erasing The Stigma--Dr Brian Yu

Each year, ALM releases a survey that looks at the mental health of lawyers around the globe. This year, the results revealed some unexpected—but not shocking—truths about the stress and burnout levels of today’s law firm attorneys. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Gina Passarella, Michael Kasdan, Diane Costigan and Paula Davis sit down with Mark Yacano to review the findings and explore how law firms can help their people.

A Look at the 2023 ALM Mental Health Survey

Despite the belief that lonely people are introverts, the reality is that even when surrounded by people all the time, someone can still be lonely. Dr. Gabriella Rosen Kellerman explores loneliness with Mark Yacano in this episode of Erasing the Stigma. They look at what creates a sense of loneliness, why the legal profession ranks high on the loneliness scale and how the billable hour weighs factors into the conversation. They also discuss strategies for both law firms and individuals to combat the loneliness crisis.

Erasing The Stigma--Gabriella Kellerman

A former attorney, Megan O’Neill turned a casual interest in health and wellness into a lifelong passion and mission. In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Megan talks to Mark Yacano about living a healthy lifestyle from maintaining proper nutrition to the importance of self-care. They dive into the emotions tied to nutrition, exercise and sleep and discuss how small changes can make a big difference.

Erasing The Stigma -- Megan O'Neill

Deep conversations with Andy Hilger, the former president of Allegis Group, on the meaning of leadership in this turbulent new age.

Erasing The Stigma, Conversations About Mental Health in the Legal Community

, Conversations About Mental Health in the Legal Community

Join me for an in-depth conversation with Patrick Krill and Paula Davis about the state of mental wellness in the legal profession, the recent and unfortunate death of a big law partner, and a groundbreaking program they developed to help firms build effective wellness programs.

Erasing-The-Stigma--Conversations-About-Mental-Health-in-the-Legal-Community (7)

Mark Yacano chats with Patrick Krill about the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s study on attorney mental health and how to raise awareness of mental health issues facing the legal profession.

Erasing The Stigma -- Patrick Krill

The conversation around inclusion often stops at how to and what are we doing to include people, but we don’t often talk about the emotional, physical and psychological cost to people of not being included. Dr. Arin Reeves, president of Nextions and former lawyer, chats with Mark Yacano about the impact of generational differences on mental health and happiness in the workplace.

Erasing the Stigma -- Dr. Arin Reeves

Winston & Strawn has taken an extremely proactive approach to employee well-being and is deeply committed to providing its team members with the resources they need to be healthy and to thrive. In this episode, Diane Costigan, director of coaching and well-being at Winston & Strawn, shares how the firm has helped raise awareness, increased support and introduced resources within the firm to improve the overall well-being of its lawyers and staff.

Erasing the Stigma -- Diane Costigan

In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Chris Parsons, Chairman of Herbert Smith Freehills’ India practice, tells Mark Yacano his story of depression, addiction, and alcoholism. He talks about how his upbringing impacted his mental health and how telling his story has helped his colleagues in the legal profession face their mental health demons.

Erasing The Stigma -- Chris Parsons

In this episode of Erasing the Stigma, Mark Yacano chats with Robin Belleau, director of well-being at Kirkland & Ellis, about Kirkland’s commitment to well-being, its unique program and Robin’s role in supporting the attorneys and staff within the firm.

Erasing The Stigma -- Robin Belleau

Mark Goldstein accepted his depression and set out to feel like himself again, taking a leave of absence from the law. When he returned, he shared his story in The American Lawyer and now he shares his story with Mark Yacano in this episode of Erasing the Stigma. Listen in as Mark G. discusses the reactions he received and why he advocates for mental health awareness and normalization in the law and society.

Erasing The Stigma--Mark Goldstein

Erasing the Stigma: Conversations about Mental Health in the Legal Profession is hosted by Mark Yacano who engages in thought-provoking dialogue with a diverse group legal, mental health and wellness experts discussing the state of mental health and well-being in the profession and exploring the opportunities that exist to destigmatize the challenges and build awareness.

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