2022 LAP Minority Outreach Conference

The Impact of Personal and Professional Trauma

on Lawyers and Judges

Friday, June 3, 2022

McKimmon Center @ NC State Campus

This year’s conference sponsors:

Approved for 5 CLE hours (2 ethics, 3 mental health). The cost for this year’s conference is $25 per person to offset lunch costs, paid in advance via EventBrite (with a small processing fee). In addition, you will be responsible to pay the $3.50 per CLE credit hour fee to the State Bar CLE Department at the end of the year. Once registered, you will receive an email notification confirming your reservation. Cancellations must be received by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 27, 2022 in order to be eligible for a refund of $25. Cancellations received after that date (including no-shows on the day of the event) cannot be refunded. We look forward to seeing you this year.

FREE PARKING THIS YEAR!! There is plenty of free parking at the venue.

Speakers (click on name to read full bio)

Agenda

8:30-9:45              Registration and Check In

9:45-10:00           Welcoming Remarks from Ted Edwards, LAP Board Chair

10:00-11:00          How Are You Really? Managing the Impact of Your Work – Tonia Deese, MSW, LCSW

Has work ever left you feeling drained, particularly of the ability to help anyone? As lawyers, we face a tremendous amount of pressure—from family, community, the court, and clients. What’s more, we likely hear stories of other people’s trauma, or see the impact of their trauma, on a regular basis. This work takes a toll, and can cause ripple effects on our personal life, well-being, and even our performance at work. 

In this presentation, we will explore the differences between vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and burnout. We will learn—and practice—several strategies for managing secondary trauma and will identify warning signs that our work is having a negative impact. We will leave with the beginnings of an individualized plan to maintain our resilience and well-being.

11:00-12:15         LAP Panel

From five distinct perspectives, covering a range of issues, LAP volunteers will share their stories, their triumphs, and how the LAP program helps in the beginning of the journey and how it still helps in sustaining long-term recovery. Opportunities for questions from the audience in an ask-it-basket format.

12:15-1:45           Lunch and networking

1:45-2:30            Imposter Syndrome – A Personal Account – Erin Young, Esq.

High achieving and successful professionals sometimes experience feelings of being an impostor. While feelings of impostorism cross racial, ethnic and gender lines, especially in the legal profession, they are particularly prevalent among Black professionals who must contend with negative racial stereotypes and racially hostile environments. In the highly stressful and competitive law profession, Black lawyers and judges are faced with both common and unique job stressors that can exacerbate feelings of impostorism. Furthermore, in work environments where they are often in the minority, Black lawyers may present high standards of perfectionism which could further compromise their mental health and well-being. In this session, we will interview an attorney who has personally wrestled with this issue to discuss the implications as well as strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome.

2:30-3:30              Outside the Box – Courtney Leak, LCSW, LISW-CP

Today, many attorneys are struggling with managing their day-to-day experience. After two years of global trauma, attorneys find themselves still trying to find a rhythm in a new world. The change can be dis-regulating and increase the likelihood of medicating to manage the stress. This presentation will provide psychoeducation regarding trauma and the brain, our window of tolerance and polyvagal theory, and how we’re impacted once we’re outside our window. It will also provide practical tools to regulate the nervous system and reduce impulses.

3:30-4:00               Break

4:00-5:00               To Drink From the Well – Geeta Kapur, Esq.

In her riveting work, To Drink From The Well: The Struggle For Racial Equality At The Nation’s Oldest Public University, Geeta Kapur details the buried and untold history of racial segregation and the hard fought integration of UNC. A graduate of UNC, both as an undergraduate and as a law student, Kapur was stunned to discover, through the caption of a photograph on display, that UNC fought integration all the way to the US Supreme Court, repeatedly. Feeling stunned, betrayed and curious, Kapur found and read the US Supreme Court cases. Pulling the proverbial thread from a sweater, each discovery lead her to more questions. Her curiosity took her on an 11-year journey, culminating in this stunning, meticulously-researched and brilliantly written, epic narrative of the struggle for racial equality – a struggle that continues today. We will be interviewing Ms. Kapur during this presentation, and she will be signing books during the late afternoon reception immediately following the day of CLE.

5:00                                       Reception and networking and book signing