Featured Topic | Bassford Remele
Healing Horizons | Mental Health and Substance Recovery
Why Spring Cleaning Should Extend to a Lawyer's Wellbeing, Attorney at Law, Steven Sitek
A Lawyer's Story: Jessica Klander Shares How Professional Support Helped Her Survive Personal Crisis, Women in Consumer Finance
Addressing Employees' Mental-Health Concerns, The Work Week with Bassford Remele
Managing Mental Health in the Workplace, The Work Week with Bassford Remele, Peggah Navab
Post-Traumatic Growth and Your Career, Hennepin Lawyer
Wellness Discussion, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association, Jessica Klander
A Burned Out and Isolated Attorney Is An Unproductive Employee (if they stick around at all), Third Annual Honorable Steven E. Rau Memorial Lecture, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Jessica Klander
Best Practices - A Private Panel, Renewing the Call to Action on Well-Being - The World Has Changed Seminar, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and Minnesota Supreme Court, Jessica Klander
What is the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation?
Harnessing science, love and the wisdom of lived experience, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by substance use and mental health conditions. As the nation's foremost nonprofit provider of comprehensive behavioral health care, Hazelden Betty Ford leads the way in helping society rise above stigma and overcome addiction.
With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation now has treatment centers and telehealth services nationwide, as well as a network of collaborators throughout health care. Charitable support and a commitment to innovation drive ongoing advances in care, research, programs and services to impact more lives.
With a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in all of its endeavors, Hazelden Betty Ford also encompasses:
- A fully accredited graduate school of addiction studies
- A publishing division
- A dedicated addiction and recovery research center
- Thought leadership and advocacy
- Professional and medical education programs
- Community and school-based prevention programs and resources
- Specialized program for family members, loved ones and children
75th Year Anniversary
The Hazelden Foundation was established in 1949 in Center City, Minnesota, and the Betty Ford Center opened in 1982 in Rancho Mirage, California. The two organizations merged in 2014 to form the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
2024 marks Hazelden Betty Ford's 75th year at the very center of addiction recovery—breaking through stigma, transforming care, and saving lives. Bassford Remele is proud to be among their Anniversary Supporters.
What is Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers?
Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL) provides a free, confidential Lawyer Assistance Program for Minnesota lawyers, judges, law students, non-attorney legal professionals, and for their immediate families with any issue causing them stress or distress in their life. This program offers help to those affected by alcohol, drugs, and other addictions; depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses; stress and other life-related problems; and any condition which negatively affects the quality of one’s life at work or at home.
LCL is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization comprised of hundreds of volunteer members statewide, a volunteer board of directors, an Executive Director, two Case Managers, and an Administrative Assistant. LCL’s membership community includes those who have been helped by the organization and others who are concerned for the well-being of LCL clients and the legal profession. They are ready to help others by providing peer support, by reaching out a helping hand and, sometimes, by facilitating interventions.
Everyone who is eligible for LCL services may receive up to 4 counseling sessions, at no charge, through our counseling partner, the Sand Creek Group. LCL contracts for professional behavioral health assessments, short-term counseling, and referral to higher levels of care when appropriate. Sand Creek employs trained and experienced professional counselors who can assess chemical, mental health, and other behavioral health problems. These professionals also provide short-term counseling for issues which can be resolved within a few sessions. When appropriate, Sand Creek staff refers to inpatient and outpatient programs, therapists, and medical staff who specialize in behavioral healthcare. Telephone counseling is available 24/7.
Minnesota Supreme Court Order | New Personal Leave Rule
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently adopted the Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) proposal to Amend the General Rules of Practice, as modified by the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice, as a 2-year pilot project to provide for presumptive personal leave of court/scheduling order deadlines of up to 90 days contingent on a qualifying event. They also adopted a parallel rule and 2-year pilot project for the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure.
A copy of the Order can be found here.
Bassford Remele's Involvement
Jessica Klander served on the MSBA Parental Leave Task Force. The task force was asked to look at the 2017 National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and consider whether amendments to the Minnesota Rules of General Practice should be considered to address the need for parental leave. The task force spent over a year gathering information and rules from other states, stories from Minnesota attorneys, and crafting a recommendation for change. Ultimately, the task force created a report and recommendation to the MSBA to amend the General Rules of Practice to allow for a presumptive personal leave continuance. The recommended rule would allow a 90-day presumptive leave continuance of trial, evidentiary hearings, pretrial, and other scheduling order deadlines if an attorney substantially involved in the representation experienced a (1) health condition; (2) birth/adoption of child; (3) need to care for a sick family and/or household member; or (4) death of a family and/or household member.
The MSBA general assembly approved the recommendation, which then went to the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice. The Committee recommended that the Supreme Court adopt a rule substantially the same as the requested one. On April 30, 2024, the Supreme Court Order Promulgating the Amendment was filed.
Beth LaCanne assisted with drafting the Supreme Court Petition. Jessica Klander argued the proposed rule to the Supreme Court on behalf of the MSBA.