A Conversation About Wellness with MBA President Sarinia M. Feinman, Esq.

By Jason Edwards, Esq., and James G. Schu, Jr., Esq., MBA Leadership Academy

We both had the great pleasure as members of the MBA’s 2021 Leadership Academy to research the topic of wellness within the legal field and potential solutions and present our findings to the MBA Board of Directors.

Attorneys suffered from high rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since March 2020 those trends have been exacerbated and the stress of the legal field for some has compounded. According to ALM’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey, last year 31.2% of the more than 3,800 respondents felt they were depressed, 64% felt anxiety, 10.1% felt they had an alcohol problem and 2.8% felt they had a drug problem.

The MBA saw this time of major disruption and upheaval as an opportunity to evaluate wellness within the legal field and how the MBA could be a resource for its members.

“The pandemic thrust us all into a world where we were living and working in the same place, blurring the lines and boundaries, and with a focus on wellness,” said MBA president Sarinia M. Feinman, Esquire, in a recent interview on the MBA’s wellness initiatives. “I am hoping to help our members reinstate some of those boundaries or establish them if they never had them before.”

In response, the MBA has created an Ad-Hoc Wellness Committee, chaired by Anita Seth and Matthew Vahey, and has made wellness a priority for the entire MBA. To learn more about the MBA’s wellness initiatives, we interviewed MBA President Feinman.

(Q) Your incoming President’s message was focused in large part on the idea of wellness among MBA members. What prompted you to want to make wellness a focus of your tenure as President, and how has the pandemic helped inspire your interest in wellness as a main focus of your tenure as MBA President?

(A) If there is anything we have learned during the pandemic, it is that we really need to take care of ourselves if we are going to be any good for our clients and our families. Addiction, depression, anxiety, and mental illness are prevalent in today’s society and especially among professionals. If we don’t take the time to reset ourselves, and find ways to separate from our work, we are all going to burn out. The pandemic thrust us all into a world where we were living and working in the same place, blurring the lines and boundaries, and with a focus on wellness, I am hoping to help our members reinstate some of those boundaries or establish them if they never had them before.

Life in the legal arena is challenging enough in “normal” times; today’s unpredictable environment brings those challenges to a whole new level. Surviving and thriving will require a level of attention to our own self-care, as well as to our connections to each other, as never before. continued on next page >

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(Q) Your incoming President’s message announced the formation of an Ad-Hoc Wellness Committee, which is led by the MBA’s 2021 Leadership Academy Class. Can you talk a little more about how members can expect the Ad-Hoc Committee to further the mission of promoting wellness, and can you tell SIDEBAR readers some more about the Leadership Academy in general, and this class in particular who will be shepherding the wellness initiative?

(A) The Ad-Hoc Wellness Committee, chaired by Anita Seth and Matthew Vahey, was created in order to assist the Committees and Sections with ideas on how to put the wellness initiative in place. The directive for each Committee was to be sure to address at least 2 of the 6 areas of wellness this year; and for the Sections to address 4 of the 6 areas of wellness this year, once per quarter. The 6 areas we are referring to are physical, emotional, social, intellectual, occupational, and spiritual wellness. The Wellness Committee, also including all of the members of the MBA’s Leadership Academy class in 2021, is there to monitor and oversee that the initiative is being carried out, keep track of what everyone is doing, and be available to provide ideas, guidance, and assist with collaboration between committees, if possible, to do so. The Committee is also a regular reporter at the monthly Board of Directors meetings of the ongoings throughout the MBA towards this initiative. The goal of this program is to make wellness a priority for the entire MBA, so that moving forward it becomes part of what each Section/Committee does in their regular course of business, without being tasked or asked to do so. Wellness can only be maintained as a priority if it is woven throughout the Association.

(Q) In addition to the formation of an Ad-Hoc Wellness Committee, you also asked each MBA Section and Committee to incorporate wellness initiatives into their programs for 2022. Can you give examples of wellness initiatives an MBA Section and/or Committee has incorporated or intends to incorporate into their program in 2022?

(A) There have been a number of great examples of wellness thus far. We kicked off the year with a “Gratitude Workshop” given by Nancy Walsh before our first Board of Directors meeting of the year. This workshop explored the practical and psychological benefits of gratitude and provided tips and support for implementing habits, which will help keep everyone happy and well. The DEI Committee, in conjunction with the Solo/Small Firm Committee, had John McMahon conduct a meditation and then discuss the benefits and components of meditation as well. The Women in the Law Committee incorporated wellness into their first meeting of the year by having Sandy Joy Weston as a speaker. She is a world-renowned speaker who came to the MBA and forced everyone in attendance outside of their comfort zone by challenging everyone in the room with taking 1-3 minutes a day to make some changes to your life in a positive and powerful way. The Family Law Section has one of its members, Peter Bort, doing a brief presentation on mindfulness at their April meeting. The Young Lawyers Section welcomed PBA President, Kathleen Wilkinson, to their March 16th meeting to discuss the PBA’s wellness pledge, which they adopted from the ABA, and which the MBA also adopted from the ABA. A licensed therapist followed in order to speak to the YLS about mental wellness issues facing young professionals. She provided some tips/tricks for addressing mental wellness, spotting mental wellness issues affecting friends/colleagues, and when/how to turn to professional help. The Trial Lawyers Section is looking to have a Past President of the MBA, Marc Steinberg, lead the Section in a meditation, and they are looking forward to an outdoor activity once it gets warmer outside. The Probate and Tax Section is having someone from the Center for Loss and Bereavement provide a seminar to educate estate practitioners in their estate practices with some guidance and context in working with clients who have lost loved ones and help to identify those clients who may have depression. They are also looking into some type of service project for the elderly community and are also looking to host an outside event in the spring/summer, so as to get everyone up and away from their offices/desks. This is in no way an exhaustive list of the wellness efforts being made throughout the MBA, and in fact, each day more efforts are being made, and I look forward to the creativity of the committees and sections throughout the year. Personally, I am hoping someone organizes a “Painting with a Twist” evening/ afternoon, as I find that to be very therapeutic and a way to step outside of the profession and enjoy the beauty that painting has to offer.

(Q) A lot of MBA members work at firms, government agencies or institutional employers who may already dedicate some focus on employee wellness. What kind of resources can the MBA or the Ad-Hoc Wellness Committee provide to smaller firms or solo practitioners who don’t know where to start?

(A) This is where the Committee comes in. They are the resource to assist everyone. The LA class of 2021 did their class project on wellness, so they are the experts with the ideas, so that we are able to break outside the box from just meditation and exercising and start to branch out to some other areas and types of wellness ideas. This is where I hope they will train/teach the rest of the MBA and spread their message throughout the membership vis-à-vis the committees and sections.

(Q) How has wellness been implemented in your personal life and at your law firm Vetrano | Vetrano & Feinman?

I believe that wellness comes in all forms. Wellness can be as simple as making and taking time for yourself, regardless of the demands of being an attorney. It can be as simple as a 10-minute meditation every day, a one-hour workout 3 times per week, or simply shutting off from your work and making sure to take time with your family.

My motto has always been to “work hard, play hard,” which has been very difficult in recent times with the pandemic as the

“playing” aspect has been far more limited.

With that said, as the mask mandates have been lifted and we have moved toward a “mask optional” society, the “playing” aspect has become a possibility again.

My wellness comes from shutting off and spending time with my husband and children, traveling, spending time with friends and being social, and always making sure to never miss a hair or nail appointment. As high-energy as I am, I have enjoyed the exposure to meditation, and I hope to get into a more physical regimen, but I don’t think that will be in my cards until 2023, considering the price I pay from attempting to shut down during the weekends is to stay up pretty late each night, as everyone knows who has received an email from me at 1:00 a.m.

(Q) When you look back at your tenure a year from now, what do you hope to have achieved as MBA President in the specific area of lawyer wellness?

(A) I hope that wellness just becomes a way of life for the MBA, and that no Committees/Sections have to be asked to implement these initiatives. The goal is not to forget about ourselves and maintain some fun and balance in all that we do, even in our professional lives. The goal of this initiative is to ask everyone to be deliberate in their wellness efforts to the point where it just becomes the regular makeup of the association.

We appreciate MBA President Feinman taking some time to give her perspective and insight. We would be happy to hear what you, as MBA members, would like to see the MBA implement as part of its wellness initiatives.

MONTGOMERY BAR ASSOCIATION

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY POLL

The Montgomery Bar Association’s Leadership

Academy has been tasked with researching member engagement in light of COVID-19.

We are looking for feedback on what attracted YOU to become a member. We are also soliciting feedback and suggestions on what would make you attend and/or participate in MBA events, including what would you like to see that isn’t being offered.

Please send your comments and thoughts to Annie L. Neamand, Esq., at ANeamand@hrmml.com.

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