Total Credits: 7.0 MCLE, 7.0 Ethics
Join us for the 28th Annual Missouri Lawyers' Assistance Conference
November 2, 2023
In-person | The Missouri Bar Center | 326 Monroe St. | Jefferson City
or Virtual
Sponsored by The Missouri Bar, The Bar Plan, and the Missouri Bar Foundation
8:30-9:20 a.m. | Breakfast and optional Friends of Bill W. meeting
9:20-9:30 a.m. | Welcome
Speaker: Megan E. Phillips, President of The Missouri Bar
9:30-10:20 a.m. | Don’t lose your personal identity! You are more than just a lawyer.
Speakers: Paige Sparks and Samantha Sparks, Sparks Law Firm, St. Charles, MO
This presentation would focus on lawyer well-being and mindfulness by offering thoughts and advice on how not to lose your personal identity as a lawyer while chasing legal dreams. Whether you practice in big law or a small firm, it is very easy to lose yourself while you are catering to clients and juggling deadlines and the overall stress that comes with our jobs. This presentation will promote tips and tricks for healthy work-life balance in the legal field.
10:20-10:30 a.m. | Break
10:30-11:20 a.m. | The importance of sleep to our overall health | Virtual presentation
Speaker: Dr. Abid Bhat, Sweet Sleep Studio LLC, Shawnee, KS
Many lawyers wear sleep deprivation as a badge of honor to demonstrate how hard they are working, but it is critical for lawyers to get adequate sleep to recover from occupational stresses and perform at their highest professional level. Good sleep hygiene has a host of short and long-term benefits, from boosting mood to improving memory to even decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. And anyone who has woken up for a morning meeting after a poor night’s sleep can attest that sleep is a necessary component to being one's optimal self. This program will provide practical tips and suggestions to help lawyers get to sleep, stay asleep, and make sure they are getting the right amount of sleep for peak brain functioning overall.
Key points:
• Discuss impact of sleep deprivation on society.
• Discuss common sleep disorders, including insomnia, snoring & sleep apnea.
• Discuss ways to address common sleep disorders
11:20 a.m.-12:10 p.m. | Keynote: The 12 steps of recovery, as worked through the Rules of Professional Conduct
Speaker: Lisa L. Hanna, Coldwater, MI
Attorneys may not appreciate that they are essentially working the 12 Steps of Recovery, simply by virtue of practicing law and adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct. We will go through each of the 12 steps, and what those entail in practice. I intersperse with my story, and sprinkle with recovery slogans relevant to each step. Particular rules will be mirrored against the steps and similarities discussed.
12:10-12:40 p.m. | Luncheon and awards ceremony
Sponsor: The Bar Plan
12:40-1:45 p.m. | Addressing silent disabilities in the workplace
Speakers: Raven Ballard, MOLAP Clinician and Well-being Coordinator, Jefferson City; and David Crawford, Crawford Intellectual Property Law, St. Louis
This program aims to spread awareness on the prevalence of silent disabilities and mental health issues in the workplace. Speakers David Crawford and Raven Ballard, PLPC will provide education on how to address these concerns when they arise, both from a personal and professional perspective.
1:45-2:45 p.m. | Trauma in the legal profession
Speaker: Timothy W. Roldan, St. Louis
Trauma is a psychological, emotional, behavioral, relational, and physiological experience that may be characterized in many ways, idiosyncratic to each individual. This short introductory program will introduce attendees to terms and concepts within common knowledge followed by a deeper dive into symptoms that attorneys may recognize in their practice and personal experience offering notice of a need for a safe place to share, be heard, and feel understood. Much like any other medical disturbance, awareness and early intervention are the keys to prevention, risk management, and mitigation.
2:45-2:50 p.m. | Break
2:50-4:05 p.m. | The Righting Reflex – Stress management and well-being for attorneys and other human beings
Speaker: Jimmy Fendelman, Fendelman, Paull & Associates, LLC, St. Louis
This is a fun, high-energy program which teaches the four fundamental tools of well-being:
1) Mindfulness.
2) Perspective.
3) Self-regulation.
4) Resilience.
Through vivid examples and engaging stories we learn how to "land on our feet like a cat" in any stressful situation. Participants will emerge energized and inspired to approach the practice of law with new vigor and enthusiasm.
4:05 p.m. | Adjourn
Raven Ballard, PLPC works as the Clinician & Well-Being Coordinator for the Missouri Lawyers' Assistance Program. Raven received her BA from Columbia College in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and then proceeded to earn her Master's in Clinical Mental Health from Stephen's College of Missouri. Raven has worked for The Missouri Bar since 2021 and has stepped into her new role with MOLAP at the start of 2023. Raven is passionate about mental health and well-being and looks forward to finding new and innovative was to best serve Missouri lawyers.
Dr. Abid Bhat specializes in sleep medicine, and is the Medical Director at the University Health, Center for Sleep Health in Kansas City. He is also professor of Internal Medicine at the UMKC School of Medicine here in Kansas City and program director for sleep medicine fellowship.
I am a US Army veteran and an attorney licensed in two states, in my 24th year of recovery. I spent over 15 years in federal prison, becoming addicted to drugs after the death of my only child just prior to completing law school. My affiliation with Indiana JLAP is the reason I can practice. I am extremely active in JLAP, and the recovery community. I am Drug Court Coordinator for LaGrange County, Indiana, and have my own criminal defense practice in Michigan and Indiana. Giving back is my passion.
Jimmy Fendelman has been a trial attorney for over twenty-five years. He speaks regularly on the topics of stress management and communications skills for teens, graduate students, and adults. He is known for his up-beat, high energy style.
The 2023-24 president of The Missouri Bar is Megan Phillips, a career law clerk with more than 17 years of public service in state appellate and federal trial courts. She is also an adjunct instructor at Saint Louis University School of Law. She earned her law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1997. She served on the Board of Governors from 2008-10 and again since 2017. She is also a past co-chair the Joint Commission on Women in the Profession, established by the Supreme Court of Missouri and The Missouri Bar.
Tim Roldan is a professional hybrid with graduate and post-graduate educational tracks and training in the Biopsychosocial Model (Social Work), Law, and Psychodynamic Theory. He maintains private practices as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and also as a Licensed Attorney. Tim is a Certified Clinical Social Work Super-visor, provides Ethics Mediation, Nationally, for the NASW Leadership (OEPR), and is serving his second term as a member of the NASWMO Board of Directors. As an Attorney he is Certified in Health Law, a Certified GAL, a Mediator, a Parent Coordinator, provides forensic services, consultations, and forensic supervision to therapists across the State of Missouri. He is also the recipient of the Family Rights and Equal Parenting Award (2021): “Award and Leadership Recognition For Equal Parenting & Family Court Reform Advocacy.”
Tim’s cross-disciplinary integration offers him insights and expertise in a number of areas embedded within the Mental Health and Legal Professions. His focus on Social Justice is client-centered and, with his unique qualifications, he is in development of innovative approaches in civil litigation and pertaining to psychothera-peutic tools and theory based on the systemic nexus that may lay hidden, yet are omnipresent, in therapeu-tic process(es) and litigation.
Paige and Samantha Sparks are partners of Sparks Law Firm based out of St. Charles, Missouri. They are sisters-in-law, and they are not your average lawyers. Together, Samantha and Paige have represented individuals throughout the country for illegal employment discrimination and retaliation, personal injuries, and consumer protection matters. By using unconventional & cutting-edge marketing on Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, Paige and Sam have successfully utilized social media to promote their personal brands and firm and create a communities based on educating individuals about the law. Every law firm needs clients, and modern times call for modern solutions to keeping clients coming through the door. As the generic marketing methods continue to become less effective while substantially increasing in cost, a social media presence has become imperative to running a successful firm.
Social media is terrifying. It is new and daunting, and the legal field loves to cling to tradition. If you can push past your fears of being vulnerable to the public to show your advocacy for clients and potential clients, Sam and Paige will teach you how to use your social media as a marketing tool, including:
• How to make short & successful legal content
• How to respond to potential clients
• How to develop a para-social relationship with potential clients
The first step is always the hardest, so let Paige and Sam help – they promise not to make you do a Tik Tok dance!
Samantha Orlowski is a managing partner of Sparks Law Firm. Sam has focused her practice primarily on Plaintiff's personal injury cases and consumer protection since graduating from St. Louis University School of Law.
Along with personal injury, Samantha helps clients who have been the target of improper debt collection activities and harassment at both the State and Federal levels through the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
In addition to law, Sam loves spending her time with her family, her two dogs, and catching up on her favorite shows.
Friends of Bill W. Meeting
Nov. 2, 2023
8:30 a.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://mobar-org.zoom.us/j/82309189975?pwd=SFhUU1JHMVNBVXdzRHc1eGlyVWZHUT09
Meeting ID: 823 0918 9975
Passcode: 511763
Find your local number: https://mobar-org.zoom.us/u/kb3amfv4eW
The Missouri Bar takes the safety and well-being of its members, the public, and its employees very seriously. We continue to monitor the latest public health updates. We will inform you of any changes to events that affect you. This includes any cancellation notices or changes to venue, format, or safety guidelines.
We encourage all attendees of Missouri Bar events to be aware of and follow public health guidelines for large gatherings. Help us keep everyone in attendance safe by not attending an event if you are ill or believe you may be contagious. Be respectful of the personal comfort level of other attendees when it comes to physical distancing, including shaking hands or other gestures common in networking environments.
By registering for and attending a Missouri Bar event, you agree to take reasonable health and safety precautions and to abide by The Missouri Bar’s posted meeting guidelines.
Please also be advised that, pursuant to RSMo. 537.1005, effective Aug. 28, 2021, “under Missouri law, any individual entering the premises or engaging the services of the business waives all civil liability against the individual or entity for any damages based on inherent risks associated with an exposure or potential exposure to COVID-19, except for recklessness or willful misconduct.”
Please contact The Missouri Bar with any questions or concerns.
| Availability | Module Title | Speaker | Credits | Duration | Course Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 02, 2023 @ 08:30 AM (CDT) |
2023 Missouri Lawyers’ Assistance Conference Virtual Sessions
|
Raven Ballard,
Abid Bhat,
Lisa Hanna,
David Crawford,
James Fendelman,
Megan Phillips,
Timothy Roldan,
Paige Sparks,
Samantha Sparks
|
Total Credits: 7.0 MCLE | 7 Hours 35 Minutes | More info » |
