Feature Articles

Perceptions, Pills and Practicing
By Scott B. Goode

I was not born into, nor was I raised to be white collar. I am the son of a marine and boilermaker welder. I grew up in a little town in the south Grand Lake area called Ketchum. My first job was pumping gas and cleaning boats at the Arrowhead Yacht Club.

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A Resilient Mindset: Take Stock of What You Lost and What You Gained to Move Forward
By Laura Mahr
I don’t know of a single person in our profession who has not dealt with a personal or professional setback. While most of us have honed a few coping skills for trying times, many of us are finding our skills are falling short during the pandemic and its aftermath – the unknowns are too vast and the tragedy too great.

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Lawyer Suicide and the Survivors
By Travis Pickens
The voice on the other end of the phone was one I recognized but had never heard. It was my anguished father, his voice weak and halting, calling to tell me my older brother Doug, another lawyer and someone I had followed around in one way or another since I was old enough to walk, was dead.

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The Evolution of Lawyers Helping Lawyers
By Deanna Harris and Ben Rogers
The Oklahoma Lawyers Helping Lawyers Assistance Program has a long history of supporting legal professionals through difficult times. From the beginning, as an informal network of attorneys in recovery to the current structure of a formalized committee, the purpose and mission has remained a constant – be there for each other.

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Five Steps to Support Your Lawyer’s Soul
By Angel Hooper
If humans are spiritual creatures having a human experience, lawyers are also spiritual creatures having a lawyering experience. The next phase of mental wellness for lawyers will include care for a lawyer’s spiritual nature.

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The Importance of Exercise for Mental Health
By Geoffrey Tabor
It is no secret the legal sector lags behind many other white-collar professions in terms of general well-being. In 2016, working alongside the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs conducted national research on lawyer impairment. The aim of the study was to assess both substance use and mental health trends among lawyers.