A Lawyer’s Mental Health Primer: The Lawyer Under the Microscope

Date & Time

  • November 25
  • 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM

Location

  • Winnipeg, MB
  • Zoom Video Conference

MANITOBA BAR ASSOCIATION 
WELL-BEING CPD

DATE:     Wednesday, November 25, 2020
TIME: 12:00 Noon – 1:30pm
LOCATION: Zoom Video Conference
TOPIC:  A Lawyer’s Mental Health Primer: The Lawyer Under the Microscope
SPEAKER: Loraine Champion, Executive Director – Alberta Lawyers Assistance Society
MODERATOR: Maria Mitousis, Mitousis Lemieux Howard Law Corporation

Join us for a research-based presentation that provides an overview of the mental health issues facing lawyers according to current lawyer mental health research. 

As a group, we are not doing well in terms of our mental health. Lawyers’ rates of clinical depression are about 3.5 times the average rate in the general population. Our rate of substance abuse is about 2 times that of the general population.

Lawyer and law student mental health is a major research topic. We are being studied because of these high incidence rates. It is not simply linked to being well-educated or in a demanding profession. Our rates of mental distress and substance abuse exceed that of the medical profession.

Our personalities, law school experience, and law practice expose us to the risk of mental health challenges. And we are generally reluctant to ask for help for fear of other people finding out. Many of us behave as if we are invincible - gladiators in suits, to borrow a phrase from pop culture - and hide our vulnerabilities, even from ourselves. This is not a viable long-term strategy.

Lawyers are fact-based and skeptical about matters that cannot be proven. So… come and hear fact-based evidence for lawyer distress because it is compelling and will resonate with you. Learn what the science says about why it is you feel what you do. We will discuss solutions for building resiliency.

Our speaker Loraine Champion is a lawyer and Executive Director of the Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Program in Calgary. Her organization provides a wide range of services including peer support, professional counselling and education and awareness to Alberta’s legal profession. 

Please RSVP (PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED) to the Manitoba Bar Association online at www.cbapd.org.

You will need a computer or laptop (PC or Mac), smartphone or tablet with a microphone and webcam (built-in or external) and an internet connection.  

If you will be participating from a laptop, you would also need to install a Zoom Client for Meetings from this site: https://zoom.us/download. 

If you are planning to participate from smartphone or tablet you would need to install an App from the Apple Store or Google Play.   if you are installing the app from the Apple Store or Google Play to use on an iPad, iPhone or Android device or tablet the free app is called “Zoom Cloud Meetings”.    

We would recommend that you have either the Zoom Cloud Meetings App or the Zoom Client for Meetings downloaded at least 15 minutes before the meeting. 

When you do join, please allow your device to join with audio.  This feature can be found under Join Options in an Apple or Android device or Join with Computer Audio if you are participating on a laptop. 

If you are having troubles, please email sections@cba-mb.ca. 

At approximately 9:30am on Wednesday, November 25, 2020 an email will be sent from the MBA advising you of the link that you will click on to join the Zoom video conference meeting.  So it will be important to register before 5:00pm on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.  

This session will provide you with 1.5 hours of ethics, professional responsibility or practice management that can be applied towards your Law Society of Manitoba mandatory yearly continuing professional development requirement. 

Manitoba Bar Association
sections@cba-mb.ca