By J. Ryann Peyton, Director, Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program
People in need of help often seek the assistance of lawyers, but where do lawyers turn when they need help of their own? Especially if the help being sought is of a personal nature. The law is a demanding profession and there is growing concern within the legal community over a lack of lawyer well-being. Not only are lawyers suffering from a significant increase in mental health issues and substance abuse problems, but there is also a failure of lawyers to thrive as evidenced by significant attorney attrition from law firms and the profession generally. To combat these troubling facts, legal professionals need to adopt new practices to improve worklife balance, reduce stress, and increase overall well-being. But this goes beyond simple self-help strategies; this is about an industry-wide shift.
In creating a step forward in shifting the culture of well-being in Colorado’s legal workplaces, the Colorado Supreme Court is launching a formal "Recognition Program" for Colorado legal employers and solo practitioners who demonstrate commitment to promoting or improving the well-being of lawyers.
This voluntary program is not meant to replace existing well-being efforts in the profession, but will provide additional ideas, incentives, and support for legal employers seeking to implement well-being best practices. The program includes the combination of an annual Pledge to Well-Being, a facilitated peer-topeer/group mentoring experience offering idea crowdsourcing to make organizational well-being work meaningful and relevant, and recognition by the Colorado Supreme Court of the well-being commitments and achievements of Colorado legal employers.
The core function of the program is to provide Colorado legal employers with access to education, resources, support, and technical assistance to improve well-being in their organizations. The program also creates a Legal Well-Being Leadership Network to encourage dialogue, innovation, and accountability in implementing well-being practices in legal workplaces. “The global pandemic created myriad new challenges for our legal system; the good news is that it also brought a heightened awareness of the importance of well-being in the profession,” Colorado Supreme Court Justice Monica M. Márquez said. “The Court has seen a groundswell of interest in this area and is excited about the opportunities for legal employers to collaborate on these issues through this new Recognition Program. ”COLORADO ATTORNEY MENTORING PROGRAM COLORADO SUPREME COURT"
J. RYANN PEYTON, DIRECTOR
RALPH L. CARR JUDICIAL CENTER 1300 BROADWAY, SUITE 230 DENVER, COLORADO 80203
(303) 928-7750 r.peyton@csc.state.co.us www.coloradomentoring.org