Wellness and Professionalism Go Hand-in-Hand, 1016 COBJ, Vol. 45, No. 10 Pg. 67

AuthorDavid W. Stark, J.

45 Colo.Law. 67

Wellness and Professionalism Go Hand-in-Hand

Vol. 45, No. 10 [Page 67]

The Colorado Lawyer

October, 2016

David W. Stark, J.

Wellness: Your Job, Your Career, Your Life

Barbara Ezyk, executive director of the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program, asked me to write an article for this series describing my observations on how wellness and professionalism go hand-in-hand. While I have no special expertise on the subject, I've been practicing law for more than 42 years, making all the attendant missteps and picking up valuable life lessons along the way. This article offers my personal view of the value of wellness. Surely, one size does not fit all. Each person must find his or her own path.

Wellness as an Essential Ingredient of Professionalism

Wellness is the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.[1] Professionalism is, by extension, "conduct reflecting the values embodied in the Colorado Attorney Oath of Admission, the Colorado Principles of Professionalism, and the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct. These values require attorneys always to act competently, civilly, and with integrity and to commit themselves to the public good and to furthering the interests of justice.[2]

Wellness is an essential ingredient of professionalism—we need it to act competently, civilly, and with integrity. The legal profession is one of the most difficult and sophisticated callings. It entails multiple stressors, including duties to clients, family, courts, and the community. A deliberate and proactive approach to wellness allows us to keep those stressors at bay so that we have the potential to achieve those values.

A Google search for "wellness" yields approximately 408 million results in .68 seconds. While wellness is an everyday topic of conversation, what does it mean for lawyers? I like to think of it as a three-legged stool that creates healthy lawyers supported by professional, emotional, and physical health. Each depends on the other two for balance.

I have spent a significant part of my career as a volunteer in the Colorado Attorney Regulation System and various professionalism committees. Through that experience, I have come to understand the need for a proactive approach to attorney regulation that focuses less on complaints and discipline and more on prevention and risk management. The same is true for attorney...

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