Changing Minds

• Author: Jeena Cho
• Pages: 28-29

Changing Minds

4 strategies for e ectively implementing a mindfulness program

By Jeena Cho

Mindfulness ha s become a popular program at

many law fi rms and bar associations. Re search from

the American Psychologic al Association shows that

mindfulness helps to r educe stress, rumination and

emotional reactiv ity while improving memory, focus,

cognitive fl exibility and relationship sati sfaction. And

a 2014 study indicates that mindf ulness practices may

help to reduce implicit bias.

Over the past few year s, I’ve been working with law

fi rms to cr eate mindfulness programs t hat are easy to

implement and can fi t into the busy law yer’s schedule,

and to measure the impac t of the programs.

Creating a long-term program that enga ges

the participants a nd encourages them to

practice on a regul ar basis isn’t easy. It

takes a good launch protoc ol, selecting the

right technology and deliver y mechanism,

as well as curati ng the content to be highly

relevant for the participant s.

PERSPECTIVES: WHY AT YOUR FIRM?

Laura Maechtlen, a San F rancisco-based

partner at Sey farth Shaw, says that “with

24/7 demands, law fi rms oft en overlook

the importance of their pe ople’s physic al

and mental health, but the fault li nes

forming now threaten the resi liency of

both fi rms a nd their people. The legal

market is increasingly dem anding, and

our continued high performanc e is

dependent upon the well-being, resilience,

grit and ‘growt h mindset’ of our talent.”

Leslie E. Wallis, a Lo s Angeles-based

partner at Ogletree , Deakins, Nash, Smoak

& Stewart , decided it was important to

implement a mindfulness progra m at her

fi rm. “Mind fulness can help us become

more aware of each other and our

communicat ion defi ciencies

across the fi r m so that we work

to improve and integrate

our problem-solving,

responsivene ss and

interpersonal sk ills

with our legal ski lls.

This shift ma kes us not only better at our jobs but

more connected and happier to be there. A mi ndfulness

program can al so serve a particular need for BigLaw

because in a large fi rm we often are physically

segregated or separat ed, even working in silos.”

Michelle Wimes, chief diversit y and professional

development o cer at Ogletree, believes mi ndfulness

programs can be one prong of a fi rm’s overall wellness

and diversity strateg y. “Mindfulness practices not only

help us to focus and increase ou r capacity to think more

clearly but also help us to act more intentiona lly by rais-

ing our awareness of our emotions in any

given moment. By regulating our emotiona l

responses, we can decr ease the occurrence

of bias and our natural t endency to employ

stereotype s and unconscious expectations

in our interactions w ith others.”

GATHER DATA, INCREASE B UY-IN

It is critical to measu re the impact

of any mindfulnes s or other wellness

program. This ca n help highlight areas

of improvement as well as measure the

e ectiveness a nd return on investment

of the program.

The fi rst online mi ndfulness train-

ing program I implemented was

in partnership w ith the National

Association of Women Lawyers

and Seyfar th Shaw. Seyfarth

o ered an eight-week mindf ul-

ness program to al l of its attor-

neys and NAWL participants.

John Paul Minda, a psychology

professor with the Brain a nd

Mind Institute at the University

of Western Ontario, ran a study

to measure the progra m’s i mpact.

The results were surpr ising.

Lawyers report ed a decrease in

stress, anx iety and depression (32

percent, 30 percent, 29 percent,

respectively), while job e ect ive-

ness increased by 6 percent .

Minda studies the impac t

of mindfulness t raining in

companies. “We are measuri ng

and assessing thi ngs like per-

ceived stress, mood, ps ychologi-

cal resilience and t he occurrence

of anxiety-producing thought s,”

On

Well-

Being

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE JC LAW GROUP

Practice

“SOMETIMES MINDFULNESS

CAN BE PRESENTED IN A WAY

THAT IS OFF-PUTTING

TO LAWYERS, WHO TEND

TO OVERLY VALUE THEIR LOGIC

WHILE SHYI NG AWAY FROM

EMOTIONS OR ANYTHING

THAT IS ‘TOUCHY-FEELY.’ ”

— JEENA C HO

28 || ABA JOURNAL MAY 2018