The Truth about Compassion Fatigue: Managing Empathic Overwhelm in Lawyers

Many articles, seminars, and well-meaning professionals warn lawyers against the dangers of so-called "compassion fatigue." The reason for this is clear: lawyers frequently put the needs and interests of clients first and may find themselves struggling to meet their own needs. The problem with this term, though, is that compassion is not the real problem. To the contrary, compassion may be one of the potential solutions. 

In this session, you'll learn that the real term for the problem so many people want lawyers to know about is "empathic overwhelm." This session will help you understand the critical differences between empathy and compassion and how those differences can have major consequences for your life and law practice. Lawyer, author, mindfulness and compassion teacher, and founder of the Brilliant Legal Mind blog, Claire E. Parsons will teach you practices so you can cultivate compassion, avoid overwhelm, and better manage the stresses of law practice and life.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review ethical obligations for attorneys which include mental health management and self-care in order to attend to client matters

2. Identify critical distinctions between compassion and empathy, both in terms of lived experiences and health consequences, as they relate to law practice

3. Explore the ways that empathic overwhelm (commonly misidentified as compassion fatigue) frequently create impediments for those in the legal profession

4. Discuss the role that compassion cultivation can have for improving outcomes for attorneys, their teams, and their clients

5. Identify practices to cultivate compassion, including self-compassion, which can mitigate empathic overwhelm in law practice