We are lawyers, but we are also human and as such, are subject to all the range of experiences that all people face at some point in their lives. Grief is one such experience.
We may experience multiple types of loss over the course of our professional careers including the loss of health, a job, a marriage, and of those for whom we care, among many others.
This CLE discusses what and how we grieve together with the types of grief and the grief journey. This is approached through the lens of attorney ethics because grief can significantly affect our diligence, responsiveness, and client communication, to name just a few of attorneys' job responsibilities.
The applicable ethical rules will be discussed including ways to ethically navigate our many responsibilities as attorneys while grieving. We discuss why lawyers' grief may be compounded by the nature of our professional work and the unremitting demands that often accompany it. Finally, we'll discuss various ways we can hold space for that which we are grieving to give meaning to our changed circumstances.
Title:
The Grieving Attorney: Navigating Loss with Competence and Compassion
Date:
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Register Now For This Free Continuing Legal Education Webinar
Speaker:Sarah MacGillis joined LCL as Outreach Director after a 27-year career in litigation. With a deep-seated compassion and genuine interest in people, Sarah is dedicated to ensuring attorneys receive robust targeted support, providing them with swift and easy access to essential tools when they are needed.
Sarah is enthusiastic about spearheading new initiatives at LCL, particularly in the realms of well-being, stress management, resilience and in all other areas where LCL supports legal professionals and their families.
Sarah’s extensive background encompasses both civil and criminal defense litigation. Through these experiences, she navigated the pressures of extensive discovery processes, tight deadlines, trial and motion work, occasionally challenging relationships with opposing counsel, and clients deeply involved in their defense. She empathizes with the demanding nature of legal practice, where attorneys are often called upon to dedicate long hours in furtherance of their clients’ interests. Furthermore, Sarah has advocated for numerous licensed professionals grappling with challenges that impacted their own overall well-being and their professional practice. This advocacy laid the foundation for her current role.
Sarah was recognized as a Super Lawyer every year from 2011-2024. Prior to that, she was recognized by the same publication as a Rising Star from 2000-2008. In addition, she previously acted as a Federal Defender Mentor for the District of Minnesota, and as an Adjunct Professor at both Mitchell Hamline and the University of Minnesota Law Schools. She has sat on multiple professional boards including the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Innocence Project and the Minnesota Board of Criminal Defense.
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