CBA Record September 2018

media in connection with the future of the profession. Specifically, the subcommittee’s focus was on how social media—a tool that is increasingly the primary way people get information—can help 1) humanize law- yers 2) advocate for the rule of law 3) edu- cate the public about how the law works. People who fall into the “justice gap” (and society at large) have an often unfair or misinformed view of the law and lawyers. A concerted effort through social media can help change perceptions. There are several constituencies that we can address and subsets within each constituency, as all will have slightly different granular goals for using social media: • Lawyers: in private practice, government/ public sector, legal aid • Judiciary: elected, appointed • Professional organizations/bar associa- tions: voluntary, mandatory Uses of social media amongst these groups include marketing, conveying information, advocacy, campaigning and communicating. We can focus on lawyer to public communications as the overarch- ing framework of what works and what is permissible (versus professional organiza- tions/volunteer bar associations using social media to market programs/CLE) and

• Encourage self-assessment and awareness through self-diagnostic surveys, second- ary trauma scorecard and an under- standing of what constitutes “problem drinking.” On April 26, we are pleased to report the CBA Board of Managers approved the creation of a Wellness Committee to be chaired by Jonathan Beitner. The commit- tee will work to reduce mental distress and substance abuse among the city’s attorneys by providing programs and resources that promote mental, physical, and emotional well-being and help attorneys thrive. It will also work to reduce stigma surround- ing these issues and collaborate with other organizations—such as the Illinois Law- yers’ Assistance Program—that are also working toward these objectives. The Wellness Committee will also endeavor to provide resources and infor- mation to the rest of the CBA and the entire Chicago legal market in a number of ways. Wellness Committee members will put on programs for other CBA com- mittees during their monthly meetings and help all members of the CBA incorporate wellness strategies into their day-to-day lives. The Wellness Committee will also

seek to engage the broader Chicago legal market with respect to these issues by hosting roundtables for various segments of the profession (e.g., solo practitioners, law students, Big Law associates, etc.) to learn what challenges the industry is facing when it comes to maintaining one’s well-being and come up with solutions specific to those segments of Chicago’s market. Finally, the Wellness Committee will serve as a point of contact or liaison for the CBA to stay involved in state-wide and national initiatives to promote well- being in the legal profession. For example, the Illinois Lawyers Assistance Program recently launched an Illinois Task Force on Attorney Well-Being, which seeks to implement the recommendations put forth by the National Task Force on Attorney Well-Being last summer. –Social Media– By Dave Scriven-Young and Catherine Sanders Reach T his subcommittee had the taunting task of evaluating the impacts of social media on the legal profession and agreed the best focus for its work was to identify the highest and best use of social

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