In-House Counsel

3 Ways In-House Counsel Can Promote Mental Health At Firms

We, as in-house counsel, should recognize that we have an important role to play as the client in cultivating a healthy culture in our profession.

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Mental Health

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Hopefully, it is not too soon to talk about a silver lining from COVID-19 — which is the fact that there is a collective heightened awareness of mental health in our country, even among lawyers. While it is easy to point the finger at Biglaw and law firms generally, that approach isn’t very fair. Rather, we, as in-house counsel, should recognize that we have an important role to play as the client in cultivating a healthy culture in our profession.

Here are some easy ways to do your part as in-house counsel:

1. Have a conversation. Client law firms won’t know that mental health awareness is important to you and your company if you haven’t brought it up. And while it could be awkward, depending upon your relationship with the firm, it doesn’t have to be dramatic. It could easily start with you sharing how the topic is important to you and why, followed by a direct ask: “What are you [firm][partner] doing in support of mental health for your lawyers and staff?” And if you are outside counsel, you may want to consider having an answer in case you get asked.

2. Support Location Flexibility. Recently, I read a thread on LinkedIn where there was a discussion about whether lawyers should be  required to return to the office. You may already know my stance based on my last post about hybrid work, but let me be clear on where I stand as the client: I really don’t care where you work from — as long as you are responsive and accessible if needed. If you are more efficient at home or happier, then why wouldn’t I want more efficient and happier counsel? And for what it’s worth, the in-house counsel on the thread had the same sentiment.

3. Set Reasonable Deadlines. I completely understand that sometimes there are emergencies, and asking for work to be done as soon as possible (overnight) or over the weekend might be warranted. But those times should be rare. As a former associate in Biglaw who hardly had control over her schedule, I am sensitive to making requests that may result in skipped workouts, cancelled dinners and missed bedtime stories. Even when I email a question to outside counsel, I try to be clear about when a response is needed. Of course, to do this well, it is important not to overpromise your business client. Also, for what it’s worth, because I often work during what I call “mommy hour” (i.e., when my kids are asleep – 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.), I include in my emails that I don’t expect an immediate response. I am also working on scheduling my emails to be sent during others’ working hours to reduce “pinging” others.

While these are all small things, they are all easy and within our control to execute, and also easy to encourage others to do the same.

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Meyling Mey Ly OrtizMeyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, you can find her doing her best to be a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and chasing her best self on her Peloton. You can follow her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/). And you knew this was coming: her opinions are hers alone.

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