Haynes and Boone, LLP has committed to the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) Well-Being Pledge, a campaign aimed at addressing persistent challenges in the legal industry.
The ABA Well-Being Pledge & Campaign, organized by the ABA Working Group to Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession, is designed to support lawyer well-being and address the profession’s troubling rates of alcohol and other substance-use disorders, as well as mental health issues. The campaign’s goals are to raise awareness, facilitate a reduction in the incidence of problematic substance-use and mental health distress, and improve lawyer well-being.
The seven-point pledge identified in the campaign reflects the core areas on which firms should focus and the steps they should take to achieve those goals.
The following seven steps make up the framework of the pledge:
- Provide enhanced and robust education to attorneys and staff on topics related to well-being, mental health, and substance use disorders
- Disrupt the status quo of drinking-based events
- Develop visible partnerships with outside resources committed to reducing substance use disorders and mental health distress in the profession: healthcare insurers, lawyer assistance programs, employee assistance programs, and experts in the field
- Provide confidential access to addiction and mental health experts and resources, including free, in-house, self-assessment tools
- Develop proactive policies and protocols to support assessment and treatment of substance use and mental health problems, including a defined back-to-work policy following treatment
- Actively and consistently demonstrate that help-seeking and self-care are core cultural values by regularly supporting programs to improve physical, mental and emotional well-being
- Highlight the adoption of this well-being framework to attract and retain the best lawyers and staff
Haynes and Boone, LLP is an international corporate law firm with offices in Texas, New York, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing a full spectrum of legal services in energy, technology, financial services and private equity. With more than 575 lawyers, Haynes and Boone is ranked among the largest U.S.-based firms by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Lawyer.