In today's fast-paced legal environment, practitioners often face high levels of stress and burnout due to demanding workloads, tight deadlines, and intense client interactions. The need for mindfulness and well-being practices is rarely prioritized in the legal industry given the nature of work, yet critical for creating a solid foundation where legal professionals can balance their high-stress roles with their well-being.

On a recent webinar, we spoke with Emily Logan Stedman, partner at Husch Blackwell and a dedicated lawyer well-being advocate about the importance of promoting mindfulness in the legal industry. Emily opened up about her journey in the legal field, highlighting the challenges she faced as she progressed in her career. The intense demands of her job and the mounting pressures eventually led her to experience anxiety and burnout, inspiring her to embark on a mindfulness journey.

Throughout the webinar, she offered valuable insights into the mindfulness practices she's adopted and the initiatives she's promoted within her firm to promote lawyer well-being. She shared how these efforts have not only transformed her own life and career as a litigation partner but enhanced her team's performance and elevated the quality of legal services they offer.

Here are five compelling reasons why your firm should prioritize lawyer well-being and promote mindfulness:

1. Enhancing legal services through mindful practice

When legal professionals incorporate mindfulness into their daily routines, they experience heightened focus, clarity, and cognitive agility. This translates directly into the quality of legal services provided. Research conducted by the American Bar Association (ABA) revealed that lawyers who engaged in mindfulness practices reported higher levels of concentration and problem-solving abilities, leading to more effective representation for clients.

Emily told us that her mindfulness practice does help her to take a step back during those high-stress moments and regroup so she can approach things more calmly, saying:

Sometimes opposing counsels still get under my skin and I can feel myself heating up. With a mindfulness practice, I'm able to catch myself more often when that is happening, step back and regroup, and come at it more calmly.

I think dropping some of that reactivity, which can be very overwhelming in an adversarial profession, is helpful for everyone—our staff, our paralegals, ourselves, our partners, our family, our clients.

By encouraging mindfulness among your legal team, your firm can deliver superior legal outcomes while staying ahead of the competition.

2. Strengthening client relations through mindful communication

Effective communication is essential for building trust with clients. Mindfulness cultivates active listening, empathy, and emotional intelligence – all crucial aspects of strong client relationships. Research from the Legal Executive Institute suggests that 85% of clients value lawyers who demonstrate empathy and understanding. Emily related to her own experience, attributing her mindfulness practices to successful client relations and improved legal service quality:

Implementing mindfulness practices positively impacts client relations and the quality of legal services because you're calmer and less stressed. It doesn't mean you're not doing hard work. It doesn't mean you're not responsive, but it brings this greater sense of awareness and focus on the big picture. You can step back and see what matters and what doesn't—that helps everyone.

By fostering a culture of mindfulness within your firm, you can improve client satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately driving business growth.

3. Mitigating burnout and retaining top talent

The legal profession is notorious for its demanding workload and high-stress environment, leading to burnout among practitioners. However, studies have shown that mindfulness-based interventions can significantly reduce stress and prevent burnout. A study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that lawyers who participated in mindfulness training reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher job satisfaction.

Emily highlighted turnover as the biggest drain on firm resources, specifically for the new generations moving into the industry. She calls on firms to react to the cultural change that comes with hiring younger legal professionals, rather than expect their younger practitioners to adapt to an outdated culture:

One of the biggest drains on firm resources is losing talent, particularly in years three through five. They have to find someone new and retrain them. If they want to retain talent and continue to grow, firms are going to have to react.

Younger millennials and the more senior Gen Z associates are much less certain or even interested in becoming partners in the first place. Firms are going to have to react to that and adjust.

I was someone who had doubts about becoming a partner. Is it worth it? Is it what I want? I was fortunate to have mentors that I could talk to about that. I think it's more common than firms realize. If firms want to survive, they have to retain talent.

By prioritizing employee well-being through mindfulness initiatives, your firm can improve retention rates, attract top talent, and cultivate a resilient workforce.

4. Promoting a healthy company culture rooted in mindfulness

Company culture plays a pivotal role in shaping organizational values, behaviors, and norms. A mindful workplace promotes collaboration, respect, and work-life balance, fostering a positive environment where employees thrive. According to research conducted by the Mindful Workplace Alliance, organizations that prioritize mindfulness experience higher levels of employee engagement, productivity, and innovation. 

Emily shared her experience of communicating her challenges with a partner when she was still an associate, highlighting the positive impact support from firm leadership can have on helping practitioners connect, reduce anxiety, and improve their performance by fostering openness and support within their teams:

I was so worried about making mistakes that I couldn't help but make mistakes. I couldn't get out of my own way.

I talked to a partner as an associate about what I was struggling with. This partner went to Yale and he was super smart. I just told him, "I'm intimidated by you. It is so important to me to do good work for you that I'm finding that I can't do good work." That allowed him to open up to me about what it was like for him as an associate.

So one way to overcome some of these obstacles is to be willing to share and talk about it. I think what is most important for attorneys is that they want to know when you had a hard time and how you got through it.

By integrating mindfulness into your firm's culture, your firm can create a supportive and inclusive work environment that empowers employees to perform their best.

5. Embracing a future-driven, tech-savvy approach to legal practice

As the legal industry evolves in the digital age, firms must adapt to stay competitive. Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that mindfulness training enhances cognitive flexibility and innovation, equipping legal professionals with the skills needed to navigate complex legal challenges in an ever-changing landscape. By adopting mindfulness practices and technology, firms can set themselves apart in the legal industry, while enhancing their practitioners' adaptability, creativity, and strategic thinking. Software solutions like SimplyAgree streamline existing processes, improving work-life balance for legal professionals, keeping firms ahead of the curve and ultimately contributing to enhanced lawyer well-being. 

Emily believes that the tools are out there for firms to modernize their approach to legal practice, it's just a matter of their willingness to implement them.

I think we're moving closer and closer to mindfulness, mental health, and wellbeing not having a stigma around them, but it's still separate from being an attorney. If we implement these tools and techniques, we're on the verge of creating a much more sustainable and positive career and profession.

By implementing mindfulness practices, your firm can embrace a future-driven approach, leveraging technology to prioritize human well-being.

Looking towards the future of the legal industry

In the whirlwind of today's legal landscape, where stress and burnout often loom large, the call for mindfulness and well-being practices reverberates louder than ever. Emily Logan Stedman's journey serves as a poignant reminder of the transformative power of mindfulness in the legal profession. Her story underscores the vital importance of prioritizing lawyer well-being, not just as an individual pursuit but as an essential element for the future of firm culture and service excellence.

The evidence is clear: mindfulness is not just a luxury but a strategic imperative for law firms navigating the complexities of the modern legal landscape. By integrating mindfulness into the fabric of their operations, firms can chart a course toward enhanced well-being, superior client service, and enduring success in an ever-evolving industry.