Be Well, April2021 WYBJ, Vol. 44 No. 2. 52

• Position: Vol. 44 2 Pg. 52

Be Well

No. Vol. 44 No. 2 Pg. 52

Wyoming Bar Journal

April, 2021

Hack Your Way Forward: Tech Tips in Attorney Well-Being

Maryt L. Fredrickson Ninth Judicial District Court & 307 Yoga LLC Jackson, Wyoming

On July 30, 2020, a special rocket left Earth and went to Mars. On February 18, 2021, the Perseverance Rover, and its sidekick 1.8-kilogram helicopter, landed on Mars. The entire operation was a feat in technology (and physics). Also in 2020, court systems across the world launched into the future, modernizing operations to include remote court as both a consequence and silver-lining of the COVID-19 pandemic. In lock-step, the practice of law in 2021 now uses tech more than ever before: e-case management, cloud storage, remote notaries, remote workers, online payment systems, Zoom depositions, remote mediations, and more.

Attorney well-being can also be supported by tech tools. Attorney well-being is like well-being in any professional sector—some of the goals are to have a positive life experience with good mental and physical health, lived with a sense of meaning or purpose, and with an ability to manage stress. Well-being models generally are described using six to eight facets. These models are like an umbrella for resilience, where each facet of the umbrella is one aspect of well-being. Strengthening each facet makes the whole umbrella stronger, allowing the stressors of life and the practice of law roll off you instead of pelting you like summer hailstones in eastern Wyoming.

Just as we now have a seemingly endless set of tech tools at our fingertips for the practice of law, there are tech tools for each facet of wellness. This month’s column aims to discuss a few.

Mental & Emotional Heath: eVideo Counselor and More

One of the drivers for the current attorney well-being movement across the country was a 2017 joint study by the ABA and the Betty Ford Foundation.^[1] That study revealed alarming rates of depression, unmanaged stress, and anxiety among the practicing bar.^[2] The same study also revealed that one of the primary reasons attorneys avoid seeking mental health help, like counseling, was a perceived stigma. The perceived stigma included concerns over confidentiality and being seen as weak or less-than-independent for seeking help.

Before diving into tech tools for mental well-being, it is essential to note that well-being efforts aim, among other things, to...