Research Guides: Teaching Tools for Law School Faculty: Fostering Wellness

Fostering Wellness

As in all sections of this guide, the wellness-related resources focus on practical classroom guidance. For a broad array of materials providing background information and suggesting institutional initiatives, visit the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs’ Resources for Law Students and Law Schools. Consult the Law Library’s Law Student Wellness & Life Balance Guide for books and online resources supporting wellness, mental health, and life balance in law school and the legal profession.

American Bar Association, Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar & Law Student Division, The Path to Law Student Well-Being Podcast Series
The first episode of the podcast focuses on actions faculty members can take to support student well-being. Part 1 addresses “ways individual faculty members can notice, engage with, and support students they suspect are in distress.” Part 2 addresses “steps faculty can take to promote student well-being through their teaching in the classroom and includes concrete actions for law school administrators.”
Larry Cunningham, Using Principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Reduce Nervousness in Oral Argument or Moot Court, 15 Nev. L.J. 586 (2015)
The author proposes using principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a form of therapy for treating anxiety disorders, to help law students overcome their fear, anxiety, or nervousness about moot court or oral argument.
Peter H. Huang, Meta-Mindfulness: A New Hope, 19 Rich. J.L. & Pub. Int. 303 (2016)
This article includes discussion of the way in which the author incorporates concepts of “meta-mindfulness” into his courses.
Janet Thompson Jackson, Wellness and Law: Reforming Legal Education to Support Student Wellness, 65 Howard Law Journal 45 (2021).
"This paper contains a blueprint, borne out of experience, of how to reimagine legal education with a focus on wellness. This goes beyond a general call to action, but rather presents concrete actions that faculty, law administrators, and students themselves can take to effectively manage the stresses inherent in law school and the legal profession."
David B. Jaffe, The Key to Law Student Well-Being? We Have to Love Our Law Students, NALP PD Quarterly 11 (Feb. 2018)
This brief article provides several concrete suggestions for enhancing the law school classroom experience to promote student wellness.
Jennifer Jolly-Ryan, Promoting Mental Health in Law School: What Law Schools Can Do for Law Students to Help Them Become Happy, Mentally Healthy Lawyers, 48 U. Louisville L. Rev. 95 (2009)
This article includes steps law professors can take to encourage and help improve the mental health of law students.
Sarah Katz, The Trauma-Informed Law Classroom: Incorporating Principles of Trauma-Informed Practice into the Pandemic Age Law School Classroom. 25 U.C. Davis Social Justice Law Review 17 (2020), Temple University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2021-13
This article outlines how the pandemic can be understood through a trauma lens, and then outlines the basic principles of trauma-informed practice, and its impact on lawyering. The article then explores ways in which principles of trauma-informed practice can be adapted for the law school classroom as a response to the pandemic and beyond.
Mallika Kaur, Negotiating Trauma & Teaching Law, 35 Journal of Law and Social Policy 113 (2021)
Offers strategies for identifying and discussing trauma and emotional reactions in the law school classroom.
Scott L. Rogers & Jan L. Jacobowitz, Mindfulness & Professional Responsibility: A Guidebook for Integrating Mindfulness into the Law School Curriculum (2012)
The authors "share their methodology for weaving together mindfulness and professional responsibility in the classroom.... Intended to introduce teachers to mindfulness practices and offer a method of integrating it into their classrooms, the book’s largest section contains numerous mindfulness demonstrations, exercises, and insights."
Ronald Tyler, The First Thing We Do, Let's Heal All the Law Students: Incorporating Self-Care into A Criminal Defense Clinic, 21 Berkeley J. Crim. L. 1 (2016)
"This Article describes an innovative self-care curriculum in the Stanford Criminal Defense Clinic that encourages mindful self-reflection, teaches coping skills, and increases resilience."
David M. Zlotnick, Integrating Mindfulness Theory and Practice into Trial Advocacy, 61 J. Legal Educ. 654 (2012)
The author describes his experience offering a course incorporating mindfulness theory and practice to help students develop effective advocacy skills.