COMING SOON: Mental Health & Well-Being Community - Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

Hello all,

I would like to introduce myself and share some exciting news from Legal Business World. As many of you know, LBW is a digital knowledge and information company for legal professionals that provides comprehensive coverage of a wide range of issues related to the business of law. Its reach is global and hundreds of thousands of readers see its publications each month. The leadership team and LBW have decided to create a Mental Health and Wellness Community to provide knowledge, resources and a platform for construction interaction about the mental health, substances abuse and wellness issues that a pervasive in the legal profession.

I was asked by the founders, to be the inaugural Editor-In-Chief and to help launch this community. I was honored to be asked and readily agreed to do so. I am a 35-year veteran of the legal industry.  I have practiced law, helped lead a law firm, helmed a legal services company and been a strategic advisor and law firms for the past decade. I have also been an advocate for advancing the cause of mental health and wellness in the legal space for the past five years. I have shared by story about my own mental health struggles, and I have listened to the stories of other mental illness survivors. I also host a podcast called Erasing the Stigma, Conversations About Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Community.  I have also written about his topic on LinkedIn and part of the Community is devoted to engaging advocates, clinicians, wellness professionals and others to discuss how collectively, we can help all members of the vast community of legal professionals feel better and experience the joy of wellness.

Here is what is coming in 2024, the LBW Mental Health and Wellness Community will be launching a new e-magazine called "Live Legal Well". The new publication will provide informative articles about the mental health challenges, substance abuse and wellness challenges that the entire legal profession faces. We won’t just be talking about the issues, we will be talking about potential solutions to the issues, access to resources and ways to lead a emotionally and physically healthier life while navigating through the challenges of our profession. In addition to the e-zine, we will also be creating a digital community to promote conversation about mental health, substance abuse and wellness and will hold periodic forum discussion on topics of note.

Expect more to come as we build out this community and put out our inaugural publication later this year.  I hope you will join us on this journey.  The more we come together, the more experience we share, the stigma we erase the stronger and happier will be as individuals and as a profession. I look forward to spending time with you.

Mark Yacano

---

About the Editor

Mark Yacano is a Senior Consultant at Unbiased Consulting, LLC. He is also a passionate advocate for mental and physical health in the legal profession and hosts the “Erasing the Stigma, Conversations about Mental Health in the Legal Community” podcast. For more than 35 years, Mark has guided clients through a broad spectrum of complex legal and organizational challenges. He has also mentored and trained countless highperforming legal professionals, always stressing the development of both substantive and critical (EQ) skills. Throughout his career, he has worked to create psychologically safe workplaces where team members can perform, learn, and contribute without fear. He brings that same humanistic element to his organizational design work with legal departments. As an advocate, he has been open about his mental health issues and shared his and the stories of others to help members of the profession step out of the shadows and seek help and treatment. He also promotes the benefits of movement, resistance training, nutrition, and sleep as critical components of the mental, physical, and emotional wellness equation. #MarkYacano #mentalhealth #wellbeing #community #legal