Diversity and well-being are essential to an attorney’s ethical and professional practice. But what does it mean to have an awareness of diversity? How can a busy practitioner ensure their mental well-being?
Meeting New CLE Requirement
It has been over a year since the Illinois Supreme Court amended the professional responsibility continuing legal education rules to require all registered Illinois attorneys to take one hour of diversity and inclusion CLE and one hour of mental health and substance abuse CLE.
In that time, three of the Court’s entities, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, the Illinois Attorney and Registration Council, and the Lawyers’ Assistance Program, have offered numerous in-person and online CLE programs to help lawyers meet their new CLE requirements.
This fall, all three agencies of the court will join together to offer a two hour program to lawyers across the state to help deepen their understanding of issues of diversity and inclusion and mental health and well-being.
Program
The free regional conferences, Diversity and Well-Being are Essential to Effective Lawyering, will take place this October in Carbondale, Chicago, and online. The first will be on October 11, 2018 at 12:00pm at Southern Illinois University School of Law. The second will be October 12, 2018 at 3:00pm at Loyola University Chicago College of Law. The program will also be simulcast live from the Loyola campus on October 12.
The first hour, titled Transforming Face of Law will address the twin roles that implicit bias and cultural competency play in attorney interactions with each other and with clients, and provide lawyers with the tools needed to navigate our transforming workplace.
The second hour, Recognizing, Understanding, and Referring a Colleague in Need, will focus on how lawyers can recognize when their colleagues need assistance, and how those attorneys can offer help.
For more information about the conferences, please contact Lindsay Shaw of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, at (312) 363-6210.