By Renee Branson, Founder and Principal Consultant, RB Consulting

Headlines concerning mental health, addiction and burnout in the legal profession are quickly becoming the norm. This is a good thing. Our attention is being drawn to a problem that has festered quietly for far too long. Still, awareness alone cannot be the goal; instead, our focus should be on action and measurable improvement. With the pressures of the billable hour, a culture of perfectionism, law firm dynamics and political minefields, paying attention to the happiness of the individuals who make up a law firm can seem like a waste of precious resources. That is why appealing to the altruistic motivation of doing what is right (i.e., making changes to address mental health, addiction and burnout) needs to be followed with appealing to the bottom line motivation of how those changes – or lack thereof – impact profitability.