Virtual Workshops on Tackling Burnout in the Legal Profession by Indian Mediation Week’20 [December 14-20]: Register Now!

About Indian Mediation Week

Indian Mediation Week (IMW) is a pan-India mediation awareness campaign run by Sama, an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) institution based out of Bangalore. In the last 3 years, it has sensitised more than 10 lakh people on the benefits of incorporating collaborative dispute resolution practices in India. The fourth edition of IMW is primarily going to focus on tackling burnout in the legal profession of India.

About the Event

How can we help people resolve conflicts if we ourselves are suffering from stress and burnout?

The epidemic of burnout is a global phenomenon, affecting every sector of our society. Awareness is growing and workplace culture is shifting in many fields — even other boiler rooms of burnout like finance and tech. But not law, where overwork is still so built into the business model.

The law is based on precedent and tradition. But burnout is a tradition that needs to be overturned. A category of legal practitioners who are highly exposed to stress and burnout are conflict resolution specialists such as mediators. Being in a human service profession and dealing with conflicts daily is hard work.

They must make meaningful connections with individuals without overstepping boundaries of impartiality, manage emotions without becoming emotionally invested, and empower decision making without undermining self-determination.

A burned-out mediator, even one who is well-trained, competent, and passionate about his/her work, will struggle to engage fundamental norms of good quality mediation. Decades of research into occupational stress shows that burnout imperils essential mediator skills. He/she may exhibit narrow and uncreative thinking, diminished capacity to listen carefully and regulate emotions, compromised decision making, and deficits in attention and memory.

“To borrow from an old saying, burnout is nine-tenths of the law.”

Similarly, lawyers representing their clients in mediations, arbitrations, etc need to protect themselves from burnout. When lawyers are vulnerable, so are the clients, businesses and people they serve. Lawyers are paid for their counsel, their decisions, and their ability to help a client manage risk. And the science is clear on the consequences of stress and burnout; it strongly impairs decision making and lowers risk-inhibition.

As professionals who spend most of their time and efforts on helping other people resolve their disputes and relieve them of that pressure, this edition of Indian Mediation Week will focus on legal practitioners looking inwards and taking care of oneself. Let’s immerse into a journey of gratitude and self-care for a week to rejuvenate and close this year on a mental high surrounded by love, laughter, a strong sense of community and gratitude.

A thriving, healthy society needs thriving, healthy conflict resolution specialists and lawyers. And that’s the mission of IMW’20202, a week devoted to the legal community of India.

Details of the Event

Deep Listening & Art of Collaborative Leadership, Workshop by Manish Srivastava, Presencing Institute https://www.presencing.org/

December 14, 2020: 6 PM – 7 PM

Rs. 200/registration

30 participants per session

Calming Meditation Techniques For Legal Practitioners by Art of Living https://www.artofliving.org/in-en

15th/16th/17th December 2020: 4 PM – 5 PM

Rs. 200/registration (You can attend any one of the three sessions)

30 participants per session

Healthy Yoga Practice For Legal Practitioners by Bodhi Training Academy https://www.bodhiyogaacademy.in/

16th/17th/18th December 2020: 4 PM – 5 PM

Rs. 200/registration (You can attend any one of the three sessions)

30 participants per session

Nutrition and Lifestyle for Legal Practitioners by the YogaTribe  https://www.brahma-kumaris.com/

December 19, 2020: 6 PM – 7 PM

30 participants per session

Address on “Overcoming Lawyer Burnout” By Sister Shivani, Brahma Kumaris https://www.brahma-kumaris.com/

December 19, 2020: 4 PM-5 PM

No registration fees; but limited seats

Note: All events will be held virtually and zoom conferencing link will be shared with the participants 24 hours in advance

So please come and be a part of this movement. They all have a stake in “overruling” burnout in the dispute resolution space of India. You can see the schedule of events here  https://www.sama.live/imw-session.html and register by clicking here. https://www.sama.live/imw-registration.php