This session was recorded on 18 June 2025 as part of the 2025 Staying Well in the Law series.

In this webinar Anna Fischer, Wellbeing Manager for the Law Society of New South Wales, will unpack the science behind anxiety and outline some of the major contributors to its prevalence in the legal profession. You will learn how anxiety can be influenced by each person's individual makeup and background and hear how it often coincides with internal factors to affect our thoughts, behaviours, relationships, and our personal and professional efficacy. 

This webinar will also explore the benefits of certain levels of stress and anxiety to human survival, the distinction between these different sensations, and how to identify the level at which intervention and management of anxiety becomes necessary. 

Other topics covered will include practical techniques for anxiety management including how to interrupt negativity bias and cognitive distortions like fortune-telling and catastrophisation, exercises for self-regulation and mindfulness, and positive coping exercises including progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, and calming micro-movements.

This session was recorded on 20 August 2025 as part of the Staying well in the Law series.

The foremost cause of Lawcover claims against solicitors is communication breakdown between solicitors and clients. We know solicitors tend to be skilled communicators who speak clearly and factually. We also know clients will still report unclear or unmet expectations, breakdowns in instruction, and unexplained advice. So, where is the disconnection?

In this session, Anna Fischer, Wellbeing Manager at The Law Society of NSW, will approach the common pitfalls of solicitor-client communication from a scientific, trauma-informed perspective and will address the basics of emotional dysregulation, how trauma influences the solicitor-client relationship, and how it restricts the brain's access to critical communicative functions. She will also present a clear set of communication techniques that can be used to promote a high standard of clarity and comprehension even when emotions and tensions are running high.

This session was recorded on 19 November 2025 as part of the Staying Well in the Law series.

Nearly 40 per cent of legal professionals struggle with hazardous drinking habits and other substance use disorders worldwide.  There is also a significant amount of misinformation on how to prevent, identify, and recover from an unhealthy attachment or addiction to a substance or behaviour. 

In this webinar, Kimberly Winters, trauma and addiction specialist, will address what addiction is, and how to take action to protect your own career and, more importantly, your brain and body. This webinar will conclude with a practical framework of achievable, healthy steps you can take today to help you do more than just survive.  

This session was recorded on 17 September 2025 as part of the Staying well in the Law series.

Lucy Chapple, former lawyer and PhD candidate, explores how psychological science is reshaping our understanding of resilience, not as a fixed trait, but as a dynamic process that can be developed and strengthened over time. Drawing on current research, this session introduces the concept of mental fitness: the capability to sustain psychological functioning or quickly recover during and after exposure to stress.

Participants will gain insight into the different types of psychological stressors encountered in legal work and learn about three core mental capacities that support mental fitness.

The webinar will also introduce Mental Fitness in the Law, a new training and research program led by Macquarie University and tailored specifically for legal professionals. This session invites lawyers to consider what it means to be resilient and how cultivating mental fitness can support sustainable performance in legal practice.

We so often hear of legal representatives putting their clients ahead of everyone else including themselves. This especially applies to their own physical and mental health, which are intrinsically linked. The decision to place one’s physical and mental health on the back burner can have significant consequences. This webinar will focus on the importance of participation in a yearly comprehensive health assessment that targets early detection and screening for disease, key health risk factors facing the legal profession, and how you can take charge of optimising your own health and wellbeing.

This session was recorded on 23 July 2025 as part of the Staying well in the Law series.

There is a quiet danger that is pervasive in the legal profession: moral injury. Moral injury is a psychological wound that many lawyers experience when, in the course of their work, they witness, perpetrate, or fail to prevent something that directly conflicts with their individual, core ethical values or "inner laws." In a profession largely dedicated to preventing, witnessing, and remedying serious harms and trespasses, moral injury can be part and parcel to many solicitors' daily lives.

In this session, Anna Fischer, Wellbeing Manager at The Law Society of NSW, will define moral injury and differentiate it from vicarious trauma, cover why and how it shows up throughout legal practice, and lay a practical framework for how to prevent, identify, and manage it in your own life.

This session was recorded on 22 October 2025 as part of the Staying well in the Law series.

Have you ever received a phone call from a client or colleague that left you concerned they might be considering suicide? Have you ever been left lost for words due to the grief or aggression conveyed from the other end of the line? Solicitors frequently report receiving distressed (and distressing) calls in the course of daily practice, and in the moment when these themes arise, it can be difficult to know what to say.  

In this webinar our Wellbeing Manager, Anna Fischer, will address this experience and outline helpful frameworks for responding to grief, aggression, and suicidality over the phone. Content covered will include practical trust-building skills, over-the-phone de-escalation techniques, and recovery strategies to assist solicitors in regulating themselves following a difficult call. 

In a profession known for its demanding hours, high stakes, and intellectual intensity, physical wellbeing is often the first thing to slip off the priority list. Yet, our physical health underpins our capacity to manage stress, remain resilient, and perform at our best. Whether it's from long hours at the desk, irregular meals, or little time for exercise, the legal profession presents unique challenges to staying physically well.

This one-hour seminar will explore how fitness, movement, and nutrition intersect to support longevity and vitality in legal practice. We’ll discuss common postural issues that arise from sedentary work, and practical strategies for staying active—whether through desk-based stretches or sustainable fitness habits. You'll also hear tips for maintaining energy and focus through effective nutrition choices that don't require a complete lifestyle overhaul.

Drawing from both clinical and lived experience, our speaker, George Prorellis, Chiropractor, will also reflect on how taking care of our physical bodies contributes to a longer, healthier, and more sustainable career in law.

In order to enrol in this course, you will require a LawID account, please click here for further details on how to create a free non-member account.

George Prorellis, Chiropractor, Sydney Allied Health Clinic