![handle is hein.journals/mlro122 and id is 1 raw text is: MORE THAN MERE LIP SERVICE: A MANSFIELD
RULE FOR WELL-BEING
Cecilia A. Silvet
INTRODUCTION
Law firms' watchword is well-being. Never in history have organiza-
tions around the world devoted so much attention and capital to improving
employee mental health and well-being. It is lamentable that these invest-
ments are not always providing a good return regarding improved out-
comes.1 In the legal arena, a 2021 report from the Institute for Well-Being
in Law echoed this sentiment, determining that while 99 percent of law
firms have some type of well-being program, these measures did little to
nothing to address internal, structural issues that perpetuate the lack of
attorney well-being.2
Law firms cannot continue to espouse a well-being ideology that
shift[s] blame from institutions to individuals.3 Unsurprisingly, fealty to
the American Bar Association's well-being pledge4 does not eradicate the
* Director of Legal Research and Writing and Senior Research Scholar in Law, Yale
Law School. I am deeply indebted to Jason Lichter for early inspiration and to Catherine
Cazes for her insightful comments. And thanks to Alex Levin, Brillian Bao, Jacqueline Diggs,
Allison Goldman, and Stephanie Chin at the Michigan Law Review Online for their hard
work and thoughtful suggestions. I dedicate this Essay to my daughter, Camilla, who moti-
vates me to make the working world a better, kinder place for her.
1. Jacqueline Brassey et al., Addressing Employee Burnout, MCKINSEY HEALTH INST.
(May 27, 2022), https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/addressing-employee-burn-
out-are-you-solving-the-right-problem [perma.cc/PZM2-ZZEJ].
2. Katrina Lee, SolvingforlawFirm Inclusion, 24 VAND. J. ENT. & TECH. L. 323,348-
49 (2022); see also Jarrod F. Reich, Capitalizing on Healthy Lawyers, 65 VILL. L. REV. 361,
374-75 (2020) ([L]awyer distress is systemic.).
3. Nicholas D. Lawson, To Be a Good Lawyer, One Has to Be a Healthy Lawyer:
Lawyer Well-Being, Discrimination, and Discretionary Systems of Discipline, 34 GEO. J.
LEGAL ETHICS 65, 102 (2021).
4. The American Bar Association's (ABA) well-being pledge requires signatories to
commit to providing enhanced and robust education on well-being topics, mental health
issues, and substance abuse disorders; reducing the expectation of alcohol at firm events;
supporting attorneys' self-care practices; and enlisting addiction and mental health experts
to counsel attorneys and advise on firm-wide programming. Firms must report annually the
concrete steps they've taken to advance these objectives. ABA Well-Being Pledge and Cam-
paign Seven Step Framework, A.B.A., https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/ad-
ministrative/lawyer-assistance/ls-colap-working-group-pledge-and-campaign.pdf
[perma.cc/2ATP-442Z]; Priscilla Lundin, The New Normal'for Legal Employers, N.Y. L.J.
(Sept. 16, 2021, 12:00 PM), https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2021/09/16/the-new-
normal-for-legal-employers-signing-the-aba-wellness-pledge/ [perma.cc/FQ3V-H4TX]; see
1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/mlro122&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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