mental health / culture / resilience

The legal industry is facing unprecedented pressures: evolving client demands, shifting workforce dynamics, accelerated digitization, relentless pace and high stress. 

As wellness, mental health and resilience increasingly become strategic differentiators, organizations must move beyond “wellbeing as a perk” to embed it deeply into culture, leadership and operations.

Legal Wellbeing: New York brings together mental-health and wellbeing experts, law-firm leaders, legal operations professionals and people-strategy innovators to challenge the status quo.

Together we’ll explore how to build workplaces where people thrive, performance flourishes, and resilience is baked into every layer of the firm.

In 2026 we’ll focus on three pivotal themes:

• Leadership & Culture Reinvention: How law-firms can redesign leadership models to champion wellbeing, set new standards and model sustainable behaviors.
• Data, Metrics & Strategy: Moving from ad-hoc wellness initiatives to evidence-based, integrated approaches. Hear how analytics, dashboards and business-case thinking are being used to drive wellbeing as a strategic asset.
• Resilience at Scale: People-centric design, inclusive leadership, wellbeing-by-default rather than after-the-fact. From hybrid-work stress to generational change, we’ll explore how legal organizations build capability, agility and human-first practices.

This New York program builds on our global series of Legal Wellbeing events, and reflects the idea that wellbeing is now a core part of law-firm strategy, not just a standalone initiative.

20+

Expert Speakers

100+

Attendees

8+

In-depth Sessions

8+

Hours of Collaboration

Who Attends

Legal Wellbeing is designed for a wide range of legal professionals looking to drive innovation and strategy in wellbeing in law.

• Partners, Managing Partners & Firm Leaders
• Heads of People/HR, OD, Culture & Talent Strategy
• Legal Operations, Chief People Officers, Business Services Leads
• In-House Counsel and General Counsel with responsibility for team wellbeing
• Consultants, wellness practitioners and solution-providers focused on legal-industry wellbeing
• Anyone leading or influencing the future of legal-workforce resilience

Past Wellbeing Programs

• Legal Wellbeing London
• Legal Wellbeing New York
• Legal Wellbeing London
• Breaking the Stigma
• Practicing Law at the Speed of Light

Under Pressure:

Unseen Psychosocial Risks in the Legal Profession

join the DISCUSSION:  ONLINE // DEC 9 // 2025

Our Speaking Faculty

Would you like to:

• Share a case study of wellbeing in action?
• Lead a panel discussion on culture, metrics or leadership?
• Host a workshop or interactive session on resilience, design thinking or inclusive leadership?
• Explore sponsorship or partnership opportunities to engage this community?
• If yes, please contact us with your proposal (name, role, story, format) and we’ll be in touch with next steps.

Renee Branson

CEO

RB Consulting

Libby Clarke

Co-Chairperson

 NYSBA Attorney Wellbeing Task Force

Kerry Murray O’Hara

Clinical Psychologist-Director & Founder

DBT Wellness & Psychological Services

Jodie Pimentel 

Chief Counsel

International WELL Building Institute

Natalie Runyon

ESG Strategist & Consultant   

Thomson Reuters

Christina Farinacci-Roberts

President

Head Heart Hands Consulting, LLC

Dr. Larry Richard

Founder & CEO

LawyerBrain LLC

Deborah Ndao

Associate DIrector

Well-Being

Skadden

Ian Shea 

Founder and CEO

I M Human

Diane Costigan

Director of Coaching and Well-being

Winston & Strawn

Agenda

Thursday, March 19, 2026, US EST

8:00AM - 8:45AM

Registration / Breakfast

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM

Opening Remarks

Chair

Renee Branson, CEO, RB Consulting

9:00 AM – 9:45 AM / KEYNOTE

Evolving Professional Identity in the Legal Profession

The legal landscape is shifting rapidly, with traditional career paths being reshaped by industry changes and the rise of artificial intelligence. These shifts can create uncertainty, fear, and anxiety for legal professionals.

This session will help law firm leaders explore their skills, recognize opportunities for career pivots, and leverage transferable abilities to break free from limiting roles, supporting both professional growth and wellbeing.

Speakers

Libby Clarke, Co-Chairperson, NYSBA Attorney Wellbeing Task Force

Kerry Murray O’Hara,  Clinical Psychologist-Director & Founder, DBT Wellness & Psychological Services

9:45 AM - 10:30 AM

Investing in Health Pays Back!

Speaker

Jodie Pimentel, Chief Counsel, International WELL Building Institute

Join industry leader Jodie Pimentel as she explores the insights from the second edition of the International WELL Building Institute report, summarizing the research that demonstrates the value of prioritizing health within organizations. This session will focus on the business case for investing in people and cultivating a culture that supports both mental and physical wellbeing. Attendees will gain an in-depth review of the report, understand the significance of the WELL Certification program, and discover the benefits of promoting wellbeing among legal professionals for both your organization and your clients.

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM

AI’s Impact on Legal Wellbeing

Artificial Intelligence is transforming every industry, and the legal profession is no exception. As new tools and technologies become increasingly accessible, they bring both opportunities and challenges for lawyers’ mental health and wellbeing.

From the fear of change and uncertainty around learning new systems to the potential disruption of the billable hour model, the rapid evolution of AI can heighten stress within the profession.

Join industry leaders as they explore how AI is reshaping the legal landscape, and how it can be leveraged to support, rather than strain, the wellbeing of legal professionals.

Speakers

Natalie Runyon, ESG Strategist & Consultant, Thomson Reuters

Christina Farinacci-Roberts, President, Head Heart Hands Consulting, LLC

11:45 AM - 12:45 PM

The Psychology of Burnout:

What Four Decades of Data Reveal About Lawyer Wellbeing

Moderator

Renee Branson, CEO, RB Consulting

Speaker

Dr. Larry Richard, Founder & CEO, LawyerBrain LLC

Hear valuable insights from Dr. Larry Richard as he shares four decades of research uncovering the key personality traits that contribute to stress and burnout in the legal profession.

In a high-stakes environment with demanding targets, lawyers often face pressures that can impact both mental and physical health.

Dr. Richard’s work explores the root causes of stress, the personality factors that heighten the risk of burnout, and practical tools and positive habits that promote long-term wellbeing and resilience.

12:45PM - 1:45PM

Networking Lunch

1:45 PM - 2:30 PM

Tackling Real-World Wellbeing Challenges in Law Firms

This interactive session invites attendees to explore genuine wellbeing challenges faced in law firms. Participants will collaborate to uncover root causes, assess potential impacts on mental health, and develop practical action plans. Attendees will also identify tools and services that can enhance employee wellbeing.

Each roundtable will conclude by sharing key insights and actionable strategies to implement within their organizations.

Roundtable topics to be announced

2:30 PM - 3:15 PM

Talent, Retention, and Wellness: 

The New Formula for Legal Success

Speakers

Deborah Ndao,  Associate DIrector, Well-Being

Skadden

Ian Shea, Founder and CEO, I M Human

Wellbeing is no longer a “nice-to-have” in law firms; it is essential for the success of both individuals and the organization as a whole. This session explores how legal wellbeing initiatives can be leveraged to attract and retain top talent.

Hear from industry experts on best practices for promoting wellbeing, supporting lawyers in achieving their personal and professional goals, and fostering a healthy, sustainable work environment.

3:15 PM – 3:25 PM

Interactive Activity: Breathing Exercises

3:40 PM - 4:25 PM

Creating Atomic Habits:

Building Wellbeing Through Daily Actions

Law firm professionals operate in high-pressure environments, balancing demanding targets and complex responsibilities. Maintaining both mental and physical health requires intentional habits around nutrition, sleep, exercise, hydration, and self-care.

This session explores practical strategies for setting and sustaining healthy routines that support personal and professional success. Hear from industry leaders on actionable approaches to habit formation that help legal professionals thrive in high-pressure work environments.

Speaker

Diane Costigan, Director of Coaching and Well-being, Winston & Strawn LLP

3:40 PM - 4:25 PM

The Competitive Edge of Well-Being:

From Stigma to Strategic Advantage

Speaker

Renee Branson, CEO, RB Consulting

Well-being in law has too often been framed as damage control. It’s time to reframe it as a driver of performance. Today’s top legal talent needs more than stamina; they need sharpness, clarity, and psychological endurance.

This session goes beyond the language of burnout and crisis to explore how mental health, cognitive resilience, and leadership well-being fuel productivity and innovation. We’ll dig into how to have honest, stigma-free conversations that strengthen teams, sharpen decision-making, and create an environment where high performance and humanity coexist.

Participants will explore how psychological safety, cognitive flexibility, and recovery cycles directly impact mental acuity, leadership presence, and business results. Expect an unflinching look at how firms can build cultures that produce both profit and peak performance, without burning out their people!

5:10PM- 5:30PM

Interactive Activity:

Meditation Session