Be Well

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming,United States
• Pages: 64
• Citation: Vol. 46 No. 6 Pg. 64
• Publication year: 2023

Be Well Vol. 46 No. 6 Pg. 64 Wyoming Bar Journal December 2023

Maryt L. Fredrickson

Maryt Fredrickson is staff attorney for the Hon. Lynne J. Boomgaarden in Cheyenne, Wyoming; serves on the Ad Hoc Committee on Attorney Well- Being; and co-chairs the Access to Justice 2.0 working group of the Access to Justice Commission.

The Future is Bright:

How a Student Club Cultivates Well-Being

Without law students, there would be no lawyers. Law students are central to our profession's future. What is learned in law school carries forward, and that includes skills for managing the unique pressures of the legal profession.

Anecdotally, law school was long known to be stressful. In 2014, those anecdotes transformed with empirical data. That year saw the Survey of Law Student Well-Being, the first multi-law school study to gather data on mental health, help-seeking behaviors, and substance abuse in law schools.^[1] In 2021, another multi-school survey occurred.^[2] More recent data from a 2023 study by Bloomberg Law showed: 77% of law students experience anxiety; 71% report disrupted sleep; 51% struggle with depression; 43% experience issues in their personal relationships; 38% report physical health issues; and students reported increased use of alcohol, substance abuse, and thoughts of self-harm.^[3] Only 11 percent of the students surveyed reported no issues.

"...if you are practicing in an area and working with an underrepresented group, knowing an attorney from that underrepresented group may help you make a better connection with your clients, communicate more effectively with the client and help you prevent offending a potential client."

Law schools responded to these reports. Many law schools expanded support services for students, and many schools now have a dedicated class on attorney well-being—teaching well-being as a law practice management skill to aid soon-to-be-attorneys as they move into practice. The University of Wyoming College of Law is no exception to that trend of expanding services, and it recently offered an optional four-week workshop style of class that was popular enough to have a wait list. The College of Law also has a unique student-driven resource. This month, the Be Well column partnered with Caitlyn Tucker, a third-year law student at the University of Wyoming College of Law. As a first-year law student, she launched a new student club—Wyoming Wellness Advocates—and that club is now a permanent fixture...