Passionately and effectively advocating for clients is a good fight that rewards legal practitioners with their own double-edged sword. On one side, playing a part in securing wins for those who need them most and camaraderie working alongside others committed to the same fight. The downside of this good work builds up over time: exhaustion from knowing there is an ever-growing number of cases, clients, and problems to solve, accumulated grief from the inevitable losses, and secondary trauma from dealing in difficult issues, some of which go beyond the capabilities of legal practitioners.
Michael and Penelope are advocates who have felt these feelings through years of working in various legal aid fields, including environmental justice, family, fair housing, criminal, and community development work. Everyone’s journey to taking care of themselves is different, but we will share our stories and lessons learned in our journeys of acknowledging the very real difficulty of burnout and finding pathways to sustainability. This presentation will focus on specific ways to process and manage your case load, celebrate wins, build community inside and outside of the legal field, and connect with specific mental health and wellbeing resources. Attendees will have various opportunities to reflect on their own wellbeing and consider emotional, physical, and mental health as a part of their legal practice.
Think of it this way: you are not just an advocate. First and foremost, you are a person who practices advocacy. We hope this presentation encourages you and provides specific tools to help sustain your advocacy.
