The Greensboro Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section had the opportunity to host Candace Hoffman of the North Carolina Lawyer Assistance Program for a virtual CLE, Mental Health and Well-Being During COVID on December 3, 2020 via Zoom. Ms. Hoffman is a former litigator whose work sparked her passion for the mental health and substance abuse treatment fields.

Ms. Hoffman spoke on an array of mental health issues associated with the COVID pandemic and identified profession-specific frustrations during these unprecedented times. Notably, Hoffman described lawyers as “control enthusiasts” who seek to remain prepared at all times. In a world where many circumstances are beyond our control, Hoffman identified specific strategies that we as lawyers can implement to reduce our stress and anxiety when presented with uncertainty. Those strategies included a variety of self-care techniques, and exercises to increase relaxation and mindfulness.

North Carolina Lawyer Assistance Program (NCLAP) is a service of the North Carolina state bar which provides free, confidential, non-disciplinary assistance to lawyers, judges and law students in addressing mental health issues. If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, unmanageable stress, or burnout, I encourage you to explore the invaluable resources NCLAP has to offer to our profession. Visit the NCLAP website at www.nclap.org for more information.

Explore the following link for a list of helpful resources for the legal profession during COVID-19: https://www.nclap.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RESOURCES-FOR-THE-LEGAL-PROFESSION-DURING-COVID-19.pdf.

Need last minute CLE? GBA is sponsoring a 4 hour CLE event on February 18, 2021 at 1:15 pm, right after the GBA monthly lunch meeting. CLE ends at 5:25. The event will be virtual so it will be easy to attend and get your last minute hours for 2020, or get a jump on 2021.

We have some great speakers and the program will include a special presentation about the legal history of Jim Crow laws in North Carolina, the required substance abuse hour, a refresher on trust account management, a legislative update and a judges panel.

The early registration discounted cost is $110 for GBA members and $130 for nonmembers. The non-discounted price (after February 11, 2021) is $130 for GBA members and $150 for nonmembers.

Register Here!

Sponsored by

Camille Stell is President and CEO of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at [email protected] or 800.662.8843.

I often describe myself as flexible.

My husband laughs. Out loud, mind you, right in front of me!

Because in truth, I yearn to control every situation. I prefer to know the question before it is asked of me. And I’d rather meet with you when I want to and where I want to.

Here’s what I know about myself mid-pandemic. I can be almost always flexible, but it does exhaust me.

How it started

I remember the dates very clearly because I was hosting the third annual Managing Partners Summit on Tuesday March 17. The week prior, the phone calls and emails were coming in fast and furious from speakers, sponsors, and attendees, “what are your plans for next week?”

I talked to everyone for advice, the most risk adverse people in my circle, as well as those who saw things a little differently. I talked to my sister-in-law who works for a clinical research organization. Her company is international and by this time they already had dozens of clinical trials happening across the world. She sent me charts and graphs and articles daily.

And from March 9 – “the show must go on!” – to March 12 – “I’m shutting it down” – we began to see the world around us change. And flexibility became more important than ever.

Send everyone home

By Friday the 13th (REALLY???), Lawyers Mutual decided to send our work force home, as many of you did. At that time, we thought we would work at home for six weeks and beat this pandemic. It was probably good for us that we didn’t know then what we know now. That we would be working remotely for the remainder of the year, or that we would have tough pandemic protocols in our offices monitoring everything from whether we allowed clients inside to taking our temperatures daily.

Living during a pandemic

I have felt ALL the emotions during this pandemic. Anxious, depressed, tired, lethargic, happy to be home, sad to be isolated, guilty for having a job that allowed me to work remotely.

I was only in the second year of a new business venture so I worried whether I would have business, then worried when I got business whether I could manage it remotely. I’d have a great day with plenty of energy and good client exchanges on Zoom then the next day find myself feeling angry because the internet was down AGAIN and asking myself how I could possibly be expected to work under these circumstances?

It has been hard. And even as I write that, I am inclined to erase it. I imagine there are millions of people across the world who would read that sentence and wonder if I had fallen and hit my head. How hard is it to work from the comfort of a beautiful home office?

I get teary-eyed as I put these emotions on the page. And I think to myself, girl, no one wants to read this.

2020 has been a year like no other I’ve experienced in my lifetime. And there are plenty of people this year such as the wonderful Laura Mahr, a lawyer and wellness and mindfulness expert, who tell me it is ok to feel all the feelings. And to acknowledge them. Because one thing we do GREAT in the legal profession is to smile and say, “I’m doing great, how about you?”

It’s a New Dawn

I open YouTube and search for Michael Buble singing “Feeling Good”.  “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me and I’m feeling good.” The jazzy music lifts my spirit. His crooning puts a smile on my face. And I love those horns. It’s a big song. Which is what I need, a BIG song.

I am hopeful about 2021. It is a new dawn and it is a new day. There’s a vaccine. Winter will end and the days will get longer. Sometime in 2021, I’m going back to the office to work.

My New Year’s wish for you is a healthy 2021. I hope you experience joy this year. I hope your law firm, or law school or business is prosperous in 2021. I hope our families and our communities will thrive this year.

And next month, I’ll try to be my normal, flexible self, writing to you about the legal profession and how you can evolve and thrive. But until then, Michael and I are singing pretty loud, because horns can handle the volume.

Camille Stell is the President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at [email protected] or 919.677.8900.

Lisa W. Arthur, President of the Greensboro Bar Association

GBA Members,

From all of us at the GBA, happy new year to you and your families! We hope you had a joyous holiday season and got some time away from the (virtual) office.

I want to thank all of you who participated in our virtual holiday party. It was a great time to connect with new and familiar faces. Fred Lind even made an appearance and agreed to take photos for me. I’m including some photos of our time together below.  Many attorneys shared the “rose” (or high point) of their year, meaning that we saw many new babies during our party! We played games (where the Hassells had a strong showing), enjoyed live music, won cool prizes, and even watched a magician.  Many thanks to Rosetta Davis and Abigail Peoples for thinking outside of the box and planning such a great event.

I also want to thank those of you who took the time to fill out our mid-year GBA membership survey. COVID has challenged our traditional offerings through this organization and we want to make sure that we are meeting the needs of the membership. We are in the process of reviewing the results now, but we want you to know that we are listening and open to consider new approaches in 2021. Stay tuned!

We hope to see you at our next membership meeting on January 21, 2021. Principal Luciano from Jones Elementary will be our featured speaker and will provide an update on how our contributions to Jones Elementary are being used to further their mission. Also included in this newsletter is information about our upcoming Annual CLE in February 18, 2021. Go ahead and reserve your spot now for what promises to be a great program!

Stay safe, be well, and Happy New Year!

Lisa Arthur

GBA President, 2020-2021