At Nixon Peabody, we know that personal well-being is foundational to professional success, and we’re proud to continuously enhance the resources we provide for our attorneys and professional staff.
In my first year as Nixon Peabody’s director of Engagement and Performance Optimization, we’ve made extraordinary progress to champion our colleagues’ well-being, including the development of a comprehensive strategy to expand the programs that advance these goals. Fostering an environment that supports mental and physical well-being empowers our people to feel and perform at their best.
For the seventh consecutive year, we signed the American Bar Association’s Well-Being Pledge, a public testament to our efforts in improving the health and well-being of the legal community.
As we continue to expand our offerings to support our attorneys and professional staff, our goal is to equip colleagues with the tools they need to develop lasting, healthier habits for their well-being. Specifically, we’re offering programs that emphasize culture, communication, connection, and collaboration.
Culture
We’ve incorporated well-being into our orientations, training, and recruiting at all levels to familiarize new colleagues with our support services and firm culture.
We’ve also introduced new programs to support attorneys and professional staff working on intensive projects: Our Vicarious Traumatization and Well-Being in Legal Practice program helps colleagues who encounter traumatic subject matter in their legal work.
Communication
Every year, we host our Well-Being Week in Law event series to raise awareness about mental health. This year, our lineup of programming focused on feedback and effective communication skills, which are central to our success. We followed up with presentations on giving and receiving effective feedback to our practice group leaders and associates.
We continue to encourage a culture of open dialogue about mental health and well-being. Our Mental Health and Well-Being benefit offers a range of care options including 24/7 crisis support, therapy, and coaching.
Connection
This year, we added many new attorneys to our Mental Health and Well-Being committee who can speak to the unique challenges that lawyers face. This group, comprised of colleagues across all positions, offices, and practice groups, shares the needs they’re seeing on their teams and creates programs that address those needs through collaborative action.
Collaboration
We’ve identified new ways to enhance client relationships through our shared focus on well-being. Specifically, we’ve participated in client-driven well-being initiatives throughout the year. These programs offer early-career associates with professional development opportunities and hands-on experience in a supportive and collaborative environment. We also joined a grassroots national Lawyer Well-Being Roundtable to learn from legal well-being leaders.
I am thrilled with the steps we’ve taken this year to grow our mental health and well-being initiatives, and I look forward to rolling out additional programs in the months ahead.
