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Prioritising staff wellbeing 101
In the demanding world of law, where professionals often deal with high-stakes cases and time-intensive responsibilities, the founder and a senior associate of Brave Legal underscore the importance of firm owners prioritising and recognising the wellbeing of their lawyers.
Grace Robbie
In a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Bree Knoester, the founder and principal of Brave Legal, and Jyoti Haikerwal, a senior associate at Brave Legal, offer valuable insights on the most effective ways for legal leaders to prioritise the wellbeing and longevity of their staff, as it is fundamental to building success within a law firm.
Haikerwal underscored that one of the main ways to ensure the longevity of their lawyers’ careers, particularly in light of the significant emotional exhaustion they often face, is for firm owners to encourage regular breaks for rejuvenation.
“The first thing is really just encouraging your staff to take breaks, especially in the area that we work in, where it’s so emotionally exhausting and you’re dealing with people’s traumas so much,” Haikerwal said.
She also emphasised the importance of firm owners actively encouraging their lawyers to take leave without hesitation or concern about how it might impact their standing within the firm.
“First and foremost, just encourage your lawyers to take their leave and say, ‘If you go, there are no issues; your practice will still be there’,” Haikerwal said.
“Even if you’re just taking some annual leave, I think that that shouldn’t be an exception. It should just be supported, and they should be, of course, you’re going to do that and take that.”
Haikerwal shares a practical initiative implemented by her firm owner, Bree Knoester, and herself, which is having regular weekly check-ins where she candidly and transparently discusses her workload and emotional wellbeing.
“Just always having check-ins. Bree and I have check-ins every week. I’m very honest with her about my workload and if I’m feeling a bit drowned in work,” Haikerwal said.
She articulated the benefits of fostering open communication between firm owners and their lawyers, highlighting that such dialogue cultivates a supportive organisational environment, encouraging lawyers to remain with the firm and continue their practice.
“I just think being able to build up a good relationship so you can be honest and you can be not afraid to say how you really are. That’s one thing that I’ve had at Brave Legal, and that’s been really helpful,” she said.
Knoester, the founder and principal of Brave Legal, remarked that initiating conversations about their team members taking breaks is essential for law firm owners – whether they oversee a boutique or a BigLaw firm – as it promotes overall wellbeing and career longevity.
“For law firm owners, be it small or big, having a conversation about taking a break is a really important step in our wellbeing continuum,” Knoester said.
She disclosed that law firm owners have instituted initiatives to promote the wellbeing of their lawyers since the onset of COVID-19, and they persist in implementing these measures due to their proven effectiveness in enhancing employee welfare.
“Law firms started with offering a yoga class, and then during COVID, we did all sorts of wellness things. We sent each other packs, and now, we’re probably going back to more traditional wellness initiatives in law firms,” Knoester said.
Despite law firms implementing such initiatives, Knoester pointed out the lack of discussion around taking breaks and utilising leave despite research indicating significant benefits for lawyers from taking time away from their firms.
“But we don’t talk much about taking a break, even if it’s annual leave. I know that the research says that lawyers really need a break of at least four weeks once a year, and so few lawyers take that,” Knoester said.
“We, as senior lawyers, need to have good conversations about taking breaks. When your team puts in a request for annual leave, the question I ask almost always is, can you make it a bit longer or can you add some more days on? Normalising the taking of a break is really my number one message.”
