Morgan Lewis  has launched a new approach to promoting the well-being of its lawyers and professional staff. Called ML Well, the program follows the firm’s early commitment last year to the American Bar Association’s well-being pledge and complements ongoing efforts to further improve employee health.

Designing lives

ML Well applies a multidimensional approach to support well-being, comprising elements of intellectual, physical, emotional, and occupational health, as well as an underlying emphasis on engagement and community. It provides regular educational programming focused on how to design lives of meaning and fulfillment, including with Patrick R Krill, a recognized thought leader on addiction, mental health, and well-being in the legal profession. ML Well also incorporates aspects of physical activity and community development and service. An additional resource includes an online portal featuring news and updates on ML Well learning opportunities and events across the firm. Working with chief engagement officer Amanda Smith, ML Well is led by the firm’s first director of employee wellbeing, Krista Logelin. Ms Logelin is a specialist in positive psychologist and studied the science of well-being with the founder of the field, Dr Martin Seligman. She recently joined Morgan Lewis from an organizational consulting firm.

Concrete steps

Morgan Lewis chair, Jami McKeon, said ‘the legal profession is as challenging as it is rewarding, and we must come together to create a supportive community,’ adding ‘well-being is a central focus of our culture at Morgan Lewis, and we are devoted to ensuring an environment that fosters our values. ML Well provides a vehicle to do even more in this arena. Mr Krill, principal and founder of Krill Strategies, said ‘I have observed that Morgan Lewis has a deep commitment to improving the well-being of its employees and the legal profession as a whole.’ He explained ‘attorneys are far more likely than the general population to engage in substance misuse, struggle with mental health issues, and experience a general lack of well-being. Now more than ever, law firms need to take concrete steps toward promoting the well-being of their lawyers and professional staff, and ML Well is a great example of that type of concrete step.