Category: Melissa Jaffe

Balancing the Scales: How Lawyers Can Cultivate Health and Well-Being Today

Melissa Jaffe, Law Offices of Melissa B. Jaffe PC

Overall stress levels for men, women, and children in our culture have been steadily increasing for decades. We know that chronic stress results in measurable decreases in cognitive functioning and increases in long-term life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. I know firsthand the importance of managing chronic stress. When I recently received a cancer diagnosis, my doctors agreed that it was imperative that I take steps to reduce my chronic stress in order to combat a recurrence of the diagnosis.

This article is a wake-up call for you, your colleagues, and your clients. For the legal industry, the call has been blaring for over a decade.

As business counselors, we are humans tasked with guiding other humans as well as corporations that have hundreds or thousands of humans working for them. How can we maintain our personal well-being while also handling the professional well-being of others?

The American Bar Association (ABA) and the state of Oregon have some thoughts on these matters. Let’s review quickly.

Where we started

In the mid-2010s, there wasn’t much data about substance abuse disorders and mental health concerns in the legal profession. To fill this gap and determine the scope of the problem, the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) partnered with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation to conduct the landmark survey of over 16,000 legal professionals (the Study). The Study examined alcohol use, substance abuse, mental health issues, and help-seeking behaviors. It revealed concerning insights, such as over one fourth of participants reporting mild to severe depression and nearly as many reporting using alcohol and drugs in a “problematic” manner.

The Study results were so alarming that in September 2017, then-President Hilarie Bass requested the ABA Board of Governors create an ABA Presidential Working Group to examine and make recommendations regarding the current state of attorney mental health and substance use issues with an emphasis on helping legal employers support healthy work environments.

“The number of lawyers struggling with these [mental health and substance abuse] issues is shocking. It is up to our profession to identify solutions to assist those already suffering, as well as to minimize those who will have to address these issues in the future. Instead of being disheartened, we should view this information as a clarion call. We need to change,” wrote President Bass.

The Working Group released their seminal report, “The Path To Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change,” including over forty-four specific recommendations for judges, lawyers, legal employers, insurance carriers, law schools, bar associations, and legal regulators. As of February 2025, nearly every state has created their own well-being taskforce. Summits, conferences, and third-party institutes have emerged over the past decade, and the legal industry appears to be truly committed to improving well-being.

Oregon’s role

Oregon has been doing its part to address the well-being of lawyers. Here is a brief timeline of key events:

  • 2018—The Oregon State Bar (OSB) and the Oregon Supreme Court adopted a continuing legal education requirement for mental health and substance use.
  • 2019—The OSB and the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program (OAAP) host a Wellness Summit.
  • 2021—OSB’s House of Delegates approved Delegate Resolution No. 5, which directed a Conference of Well-Being Stakeholders.
  • 2022—The Conference convened. During the conference, other Workgroups were formed to meet afterward and discuss topics such as structural impediments to well-being, reducing stigma, and lawyer education.
  • 2023—The Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund composed a Legal Industry Well-Being Workgroup Report. As stated in the report, and most notably for business lawyers, one of the 2022 Workgroups identified the following as immediately actionable steps: “training in, and support of, well-being in the workplace, and [addressing] the disconnect from purpose and meaning in the work for many in the profession.”

Next steps

Despite the strides being made in improving lawyer well-being, I learned during my time as a part of the Washington State Bar Association Wellness Taskforce that taskforces across the country are struggling with where to best find trainers and supportive confidential resources that are not immediately tied to a state’s bar. Not surprisingly, lawyers seem universally reluctant to use OAPP services due to a distrust of complete confidentiality and the risks posed to individual positions and status of firms due to the very real stigma against seeking help for substance abuse and mental health struggles. Similarly, law students fear they may not even be accepted into a state bar should they admit to needing support.

Luckily, there have emerged truly neutral, confidential, and independent options for firms and individuals that are seeking help and are unwilling to risk potential disclosures—third party coaches and wellness assessment providers, such as the Institute for Well-Being in Law, are becoming increasingly available.

Additionally, there are some initial steps that you can take as an individual or as part of a firm:

  • Check-ins—If you are in a firm, you can encourage quarterly check-ins with staff to see how they feel about their caseload, the ability to voice their opinions, and overall efficacy. These small check-ins can help staff feel important and heard within the firm culture. Solos have a slightly more challenging feat, as accountability and support are key to achieving wellness. Seek out the assistance of a coach or group of peers to meet regularly. The group might consider an event or meetup that does not include alcohol as the focus.
  • Take the pledge—The ABA Well-Being Taskforce released a pledge, which encourages firms and individuals to reflect upon their own well-being and the culture of their working environments. The pledge encourages attorneys and firms to review their values and work to bring their daily behavior in alignment with those values. Annually, the ABA requests a written submission of manifested action taken to achieve wellness goals, then publicizes pledge signatories. Most high-profile national firms have joined as signatories and re-commit annually. This simple act of self-reflection and accountability is the easiest way to commit to incorporating well-being into your practice. The pledge is designed to be more than “lip service;” rather, it’s an attempt to get billable-hour-hungry attorneys to slow down and prioritize their own well-being. Having a trained advisor assess attorneys and conduct firm-wide value statements (where the entire firm works together to synthesize its members values) is critical to improving corporate culture, including providing reflective and wellness-centered advice to clients.
  • Play—Taking time away from the intellectual challenges of career pressures is one of the most effective ways to regulate one’s nervous system. Anything that gets your mind and body out of a highly anxious and pressured space for at least thirty minutes a day counts as play, from baseball to improv comedy to board games. From a physical standpoint, walking for about 150 minutes a week can provide some stress relief. If you need to take a walking meeting, do it.
  • Mindfulness practices—Mindfulness includes allowing your mind to literally “let go” of thought and simply breathe. It’s harder than it sounds, and often beginners need some guidance. Luckily, you have an abundance of options—simply search for “mindfulness” in the app store on your handheld mobile device. Some of the most popular apps include JKZ Meditations, Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer. One of my favorite practices to listen to the Sharon Salzberg’s Metta Hour Podcast while walking for thirty minutes daily. Just ten minutes of daily meditation is all it takes to change your brain. These easy-to-incorporate apps can change your life and help you achieve your goals of the ABA pledge.
  • Retreats—For those who feel they are ready for a big shift, mindfulness retreats for lawyers are some of the absolute best opportunities to reflect on one’s mental and behavioral patterns while receiving support in beautiful locations around the world. Mental health CLE credits, which are now required for Oregon lawyers, are becoming increasingly available for retreats. Multi-jurisdictional attorneys can often gain credit in multiple jurisdictions and gain an opportunity to see firsthand the difference mindfulness, self-reflective practices, and intentional journaling can have on your day-to-day life.

In my personal wellness journey after receiving my cancer diagnosis, I was absolutely blown away to read multiple studies and articles stating that making lifestyle changes is the best way to reduce risks for not only cancer but also other major ailments like cardiac disease and Alzheimer’s. After prioritizing meditation, daily walking, mindful listening, and other wisdom practices, I personally experienced greater concentration, better sleep, more enjoyment even in the most stressful situations, and an overall deeper connection to family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Fundamentally, we owe our clients the best of ourselves. Personal wellness is critical to deliver that obligation. ♦

Barrister Banter: Melissa Jaffe

The purpose of the series is to bridge the gap between junior and senior business lawyers in Oregon, fostering understanding and camaraderie. For this article, we interviewed Melissa Jaffe, the owner and principal attorney of the Law Offices of Melissa B. Jaffe, PC and a member of the Business Law Section Executive Committee. Read on to learn more about her path to law, her practice, and her advice for junior and senior lawyers.

  1. Tell me about your path to being a lawyer. What inspired you to pursue this career? 

I worked at a club in college called the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. At the time, I mostly did it for the free concerts, but witnessing the amount of behind-the-scenes work that went into each production was inspiring. Eventually I was tasked with reading and even redlining contracts, and I was hooked—I knew I wanted to be a transactional lawyer. I was able to problem-solve, be creative, and interpret different perspectives from different stakeholders, and I was responsible for making sure all the details were tracked and executed. If there was a disagreement, I was routinely called upon to mediate. It was fast-paced, detailed, and incredibly satisfying to witness how many lives were impacted with each event.

  1. What is your practice area?

I am a transactional business lawyer with a focus on intellectual property and privacy law. My skill set is called upon regarding artists, producers, entrepreneurs, new business technology (such as cryptocurrency), and new endeavors of all kinds.

  1. How long have you been in your current role?

I became a lawyer nearly twenty years ago. I have owned my own practice for the last seventeen years.

  1. How have you seen the practice change since you started practicing?

Technology has changed everything in my practice. I literally think everything has been updated—my staff is all remote, I use AI to assist with scheduling and managing calendars across different time zones, and all my clients have some internet component, which has caused privacy issues to increase exponentially. From a business ownership perspective, when I started my practice, I would use Yellow Pages ads. Now I have marketing strategy sessions that include social media, apps, and video presentations. I own a multi-jurisdictional practice; I’m licensed in CA, OR, and WA and will sit for the HI bar shortly. Almost all my meetings are remote through Teams or Zoom.

  1. What do you wish you had known before you started working as a new lawyer?

I really wish I would have invested in a joint MBA/JD. Running your own firm is so much more than just billing and emails. There are aspects of accounting, management, marketing and PR, and feeling responsible for staff that add additional layers of stress I wasn’t necessarily prepared to encounter. Luckily, I enjoy learning and was able to grow along with my practice. Honestly, I remember thinking I was finished with classwork once I graduated from law school, but it turned out I wasn’t, not by a long shot!

  1. What are your career highlights?

There have been so many. When I started my career in Portland, I would give free talks to artists on the basics of intellectual property. About ten years later, I was called on to write a brief on copyright law in a very high-stakes litigation. Based on my talk, the artist was able to deftly negotiate a derivative rights clause to his contract that ultimately won him a lot of money. I think the particular nuance escaped many of the corporate lawyers when drafting the agreement. He contacted me after the judgment was rendered to thank me. I truly changed his life for the better. That was very gratifying.

Another person who joined my office as an assistant went on to run her own incredibly successful creative business. We are still in touch, and I know many of her business decisions were based on the talks we had had years prior.

When I am able to get my clients, staff, or audience members to understand the importance of legal theories or intellectual property issues—when I see the light bulb turn on—that is intensely gratifying for me.

  1. What is your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of my job is making the world a better place for my colleagues, clients, and their clients. There is such an impact we get to make, and I believe it’s an impact that deeply enriches others in the long term. Watching business grow, multiply, and even sell has a certain magic to it. It is an honor to assist clients turn an idea or a small venture into something that can support their families and even generations into the future.

  1. What parts of the job do you wish you could outsource to AI?

I am learning to love marketing. Promoting myself and my business is a tough thing for me because my name is also my law firm name. As a solo practitioner it can feel uncomfortable to talk about myself. At times, I wish I could avoid it entirely and hand it off to AI.

  1. What advice would you give a new business lawyer?

My biggest advice to new business lawyers is to turn your devices off while with family, especially if you have children. I understand we are a competitive group, but it makes a big difference for mental and ultimately physical wellness to just be present with loved ones.

My second piece of advice is to engage in service. My community service through the Business Law Section, Intellectual Property Law Section, Oregon Women Lawyers, House of Delegates of the Oregon State Bar, and state bar taskforces has allowed me to meet others who are passionate about the practice of law. The pro bono work I’m engaged in is some of the most impactful.

  1. What advice would you give a senior lawyer who is charged with mentoring a new lawyer?

I recommend senior lawyers remain vulnerable and open with their mentees. I have made great friendships with my mentees and discovered some pretty serious circumstances that truly needed attention. I’m grateful I was able to help in sometimes profound ways. Other times, just remaining available means a lot to a brand-new lawyer.