WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oct. 23, 2019 – BakerHostetler is pleased to announce the firm has joined the American Bar Association (ABA) Well-Being Pledge and Campaign to address the profession’s troubling rates of alcohol and other substance-use disorders and mental health distress.
The campaign, organized by the ABA Working Group to Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession, is designed to improve lawyer well-being and reduce mental health and substance use disorders. From education to policies to culture, the seven-point framework for the program reflects the core areas on which legal employers should focus and offers concrete steps to help achieve those goals. The framework includes (1) providing enhanced and robust education, (2) disrupting the status quo of drinking-based events, (3) developing partnerships with outside resources, (4) providing confidential access, (5) developing proactive policies and protocols, (6) demonstrating help-seeking and self-care as core cultural values, and (7) promoting well-being to attract and retain lawyers and their staff.
“We recognize that no one is immune from mental health issues and addiction,” said BakerHostetler Chairman Paul Schmidt. “We look forward to working with the ABA and our partner law firms on this important initiative to create awareness and develop supporting programs to improve physical, mental and emotional well-being for our lawyers and staff.”
Formed in September 2017, the working group was created to examine and make recommendations regarding the current state of attorneys’ mental health. It has since received support from more than 100 law firms and other legal aid organizations and has conducted workshops, developed toolkits and provided other related materials for lawyers and legal employers.
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About BakerHostetler
Recognized as one of the top firms for client service, BakerHostetler is a leading national law firm that helps clients around the world address their most complex and critical business and regulatory issues. With five core national practice groups – Business, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property, Litigation, and Tax – the firm has nearly 1,000 lawyers located in 14 offices coast to coast. BakerHostetler is widely regarded as having one of the country’s top 10 tax practices, a nationally recognized litigation practice, an award-winning data privacy practice and an industry-leading business practice. The firm is also recognized internationally for its groundbreaking work recovering more than $13 billion in the Madoff Recovery Initiative, representing the SIPA Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Visit bakerlaw.com.
Contact
Ivette Delgado, 202.861.1766 (idelgado@bakerlaw.com) or Gabi Valentine, 202.861.1582 (gvalentine@bakerlaw.com)