Following Vermont's example, Utah adds a comment to rule on competence to remind lawyers to be mindful of their wellness

I have written about the notion of "wellness" before, including about a report on the negative effects of the practice of law and the fact that Vermont has adopted a comment [9] to its rule on competence which states that maintaining mental, emotional, and physical well-being necessary for practice is important aspect of competence.  

Today I want to let you know that, earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Utah approved an amendment to the comments of Rule 1.1 of its Rules of Professional Conduct to add language about the mental, physical, and emotional health of attorneys.  Here is the language of the new paragraph in the comment:

[9] Lawyers should be aware that their mental, emotional, and physical well-being may impact their ability to represent clients and, as such, is an important aspect of maintaining competence to practice law and compliance with the standards of professionalism and civility. Resources supporting lawyer well-being are available through the Utah State Bar.

Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism launches free online CLE program on lawyer wellness

I have written about the notion of "wellness" before, including about a report on the negative effects of the practice of law and the fact that Vermont has adopted a comment [9] to its rule on competence which states that maintaining mental, emotional, and physical well-being necessary for practice is important aspect of competence.

Today I want to let you know that the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism has created a free online CLE program on lawyer well-being that you can access by going here.

According to the website, attorneys who complete the CLE are eligible to receive 0.5 hours of mental health and substance abuse CLE credit in Illinois. During the 30-minute interactive eLearning attorneys will (1) understand the extent of the well-being crisis in the legal profession, (2) identify potential symptoms of stress, and (3) learn strategies to help maintain their well-being.

Law Practice Today Issue on Ethics

Law Practice Today, the magazine of the ABA Law Practice Division, just published its most recent issue and it is all dedicated to ethics issues.  You can access it here.

The main articles include:

When the Rules Stagnate Innovation, Change the Rules:  Is the profession of law its own worst enemy when it comes to innovation?

Maintaining Ethical Boundaries on the Gray Web of Marketing:  The ethics of marketing online are not always black and white.

Cybersecurity for Attorneys: Addressing the Legal and Ethical Duties: Neglecting your legal and ethical duties to protect client data carries profound risks.

Keep Your Mouth Shut!: Why lawyers must avoid revealing confidential client information in an age of open mouths.

Work-Life Synchronicity in the Legal Profession: How to get more joy out of all aspects of life–including work.

Measurement Matters in Diversity and Inclusion: The ABA Model Diversity Survey is an important tool for progress.

New report on lawyers' wellness

In 2017, the ABA National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being published a report on attorney well-being which described the wellness deficiencies that exist within the legal profession and called for critical self-examination and evaluation by the members of the profession.  Since then, many bar associations have sought to identify the signs of mental health problems, to identify resources for lawyers who need treatment, and to strengthen judicial and lawyer assistance programs.  However, according to a new report of the Virginia Bar Association, little has been done to identify the reasons that explain why lawyers experience wellness problems at a disproportionate rate when compared to the public as a whole.

To explore that question, the Virginia State Bar created a task force that set out to identify specific aspects or characteristics of the practice of law that might serve as a risk to a lawyer’s well-being.

The task force's report is now available here.  The report is relatively long - 80 pages - but you should take a look at its summary, which appears in the form of a very interesting and useful chart on pages 2-11.

The chart lists a long list of "occupational risks" involved in lawyering, and for each offers a list of potential effects on the individuals, as well as practice pointers for individuals and organizations to help minimize those effects.

The list of occupational risks is listed in the table of contents which I have copied below.

Vermont adopts rule regulating sexual relations with clients

Ethical Grounds is reporting that the Vermont Supreme Court recently adopted a version of Model Rule 1.8(j) which regulates sexual relations with clients.  The model rule has been in place for quite some time, and quite frankly I am surprised to hear it had not been adopted sooner.