Law Students Shine Light on Mental Health, Well-Being
Leah McLean, left, and Shelby Gilmer are NCBA Law Student Division members and 2021-22 Law Student Representatives. In this article, they discuss how law students can prioritize their mental health and set the stage for lifelong lawyer well-being.
Leah McLean and Shelby Gilmer are raising awareness for mental health by sharing their experiences with law students.
In December of 2021, they started the conversation on this important topic when they separately penned blog posts on strategies for law student success. Leah writes about the boundaries necessary for maintaining good mental health and describes how one can put them into practice. Shelby offers advice on what students can do to create work-life balance and highlights that one can turn to others for support and guidance.
The two posts are a call to talk about mental, physical and emotional well-being because developing an awareness of these topics can be the first step in putting work-life balance into practice. Leah and Shelby remind law students how important it is to make choices on a daily basis that promote wellness.
Leah and Shelby both began law school in 2020: Leah at Elon University School of Law, and Shelby at Wake Forest University School of Law. At the end of their first year, each noticed a need to make some changes in their lives to enhance their well-being. Now, as 2Ls, they are both encouraging law students, especially 1Ls, to make mental health a priority.
Leah, who is originally from Maryland, graduated from Towson University in 2020 before moving to Greensboro to attend Elon. She earned her undergraduate degree the same year she began law school.
Leah underscores why it is important to address law student well-being.
“A general thing I see with friends in law school here in North Carolina, and friends I have in other in law schools across throughout the country, is, obviously, law school is a competitive program to participate in, one of the most competitive. There is a large percentage of law students battling with depression, anxiety, and it sort of goes downhill as you are trying to climb the ranks in law school.
“People will put off getting a good night’s rest to make sure that they have everything down in a brief. And then, at the same time, yes, your classes are the most important thing, but you also have to think about those extracurricular things that look good to jobs when you graduate and are on the way out.
“I think a lot of times, people will put the goal at the forefront and leave themselves at the wayside, not necessarily on purpose, and it may not necessarily be a conscious effort, but sometimes, when you are trying to get that one thing done, you forget about the little things that used to bring you joy.”
These competing priorities can lead one to feel overwhelmed and to lose sight of what is needed for optimal well-being. Finding time for coursework and commitments, and also for sleep, regular meals, exercise and social interactions can be a difficult balancing act.
Leah provides a snapshot of a day in the life of a law student. She wakes up at 7:30 or 8 a.m., has breakfast, goes to class at 10 or 11 a.m., holds office hours, works as a teaching assistant, and attends more classes. She might not eat a meal again until 8 p.m.
Outside of the classroom, Leah works in a library one evening per week. She also serves on the Student Bar Association Community Inclusion Committee and as a student representative for Kaplan.
Leah, left, representing the SBA Community Inclusion Committee at the fall student organization fair.
One’s schedule can make finding time for work-life balance difficult. Leah observes that external and internal expectations can contribute to a sense of stress.
“We started law school in a pandemic. There are a lot of people who will say how resilient we are and how wonderful it is that we pushed through during that time. I feel like that can add a layer of pressure sometimes.”
She describes, “You can’t say you don’t feel a little bit of pride and joy when someone says, ‘You made this work through a pandemic.’ You use that to help you continue, like ‘I’ve got to keep pushing through. I want to be proud of myself, too, because I made it through; I got it all done.’”
The emphasis on pushing forward can factor into not getting adequate rest.
“It may cause people to think like, oh, I can’t take this day off or take a mental health day to myself because I am supposed to be resilient. I am supposed to keep going. I am supposed to keep pushing through. Well, if you are not feeling at your best, you can’t. One thing my mom will always say to me is you can’t do your best if you are not actually rested. You’re not going to retain it; you are not going to get anything out of it. So you might as well get the rest and come back to it later.”
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She emphasizes that as much as conversations about mental health are needed, in order for law students to make their own mental health a priority, they have to make the personal choice to keep their well-being in mind.
“You’re still supposed to maintain a social life. You’re still supposed to take care of yourself. You’re still supposed to work out every day. There are some weeks I don’t see a gym at all. I don’t even know what it looks like, yet I know that should be there, but I feel like I don’t have time. But that is the thing with law school, you have to make it work.”
What strategies have helped Leah?
She is creating more balance in her life in 2022 through making time for her outside interests. This year, she plans to incorporate self-care by reading for enjoyment.
“One of my goals for this upcoming year is to read two books a month. It’s a very ambitious goal for me, because after reading cases and briefings, I don’t really feel like reading anything else. But I know that that was something that I liked to do before law school. That is something I want to do to take care of me and expand my knowledge outside of the classroom.”
Leah visiting Paris in January of 2021 while studying abroad in London.
She plans to make time throughout the winter semester for the little things that bring her joy, and she also hopes to travel more this year, another activity she looks forward to.
She reminds herself of all that she will accomplish when she becomes a lawyer. She hopes to inspire other Black women to become attorneys, citing that of the 5 percent of Black attorneys in the U.S., women make up only 2 percent of that number.
“One of the things I really want to do is, or one of the things that drives me to keep going through with this, is I really want to help marginalized communities and be a voice and advocate for them and later go into prison reform.”
Shelby Gilmer is a 2019 graduate of Appalachian State University. She began law school in 2020 after working as a legal assistant at the Appalachian Law Center following her undergraduate degree.
She recalls her first year as a law student.
“1L is stressful for anyone in any year, but topping it off with that environment made it even more stressful. And I think that 1L year – I have spoken to a lot of my peers – they have said the same thing, who have started in 2020, you kind of got in this bubble of work, work, work, because there were no extracurriculars in person, you are never going out together to get a drink or dinner, people are staying home. It kind of became this tunnel vision of working all the time, which leads to stress, anxiety, and overall poor mental health.”
After finishing her first year, Shelby realized she needed to focus more on her mental well-being. In 2021, she began to make some changes.
“Going into this year, I told myself, you need to switch gears, and there is more to life than just law school. This past semester, I had to approach things differently.”
How did she begin to prioritize her mental health?
It came down to a simple technique, one that has reminded her to balance her coursework with activities that promote her well-being.
“What I have done over the past semester and then going into this semester – I don’t just schedule my classes and when things are due anymore. I will intentionally plan date nights. ‘It will be on this Friday night. We are going to go here.’ I will intentionally plan, ‘on this night’ – I am a big reader – ‘on a Saturday night, I am going to read a book I enjoy.’ I am not going to read my case book. I will schedule in ‘I am going to go on walks and workouts’ and things like that.
“For me what’s worked out, because I am such a planner – I know it is different for everyone – is putting it in my schedule, because when I scan my schedule alongside a class schedule or a due date, it is just as important. It is right next to it. It is not in the back of my head. It’s something that is important to finish throughout the day, if not more important. So that’s kind of how I have prioritized my mental health throughout this year.”
Writing down what activity she will engage in that day offers her a visual cue to keep her well-being in mind. Without these reminders, making time to put wellness first can be overlooked, she shares. Planning ahead is an act of mindfulness, one that encourages her to tap into what she enjoys.
“That is the thing with law school. There is always going to be something else to do because it just comes at you fast. The workload comes at you fast. You have to be intentional about your time and really prioritize those things because you can take time for yourself, but when you have so many things on your plate, just putting in your head, ‘I want to work out at some point this week,’ you might never get to it. But really being intentional about when you’re going to do it and what you’re going to do, you are going to be more likely to get to it.”
After incorporating some of these changes into her life, Shelby wanted to share this information with other law students, 1Ls in particular, so she composed the blog post.
“I was kind of hoping someone who had been in a position like me, who had complete tunnel vision with exams and was doing nothing to relieve stress, would read it and reevaluate and look at their life, and be like, ‘wait, when was the last time I took a walk, or anything like that, or made a good meal for myself?’ or anything along those lines.”
She adds that social connections are another invaluable resource.
“People are naturally social creatures. The friendships I have made in law school are some of the best friendships I have ever had and have definitely strengthened this year being more in person. It is important for your mental health in law school because those are the individuals who understand exactly what you are going through. They understand the stress and anxiety and competition because they are right there beside you.
“So when it comes to mental health, I think it is important to build those bonds because these are the people who really understand. You can have those conversations and venting and advice sessions between your friends that can really help your mental health because you know you are not alone in it.”
Shelby, left, kayaking in Oak Island.
Finding mentors and law students to talk to, whether virtually or in person, is especially important for 1Ls, Shelby says.
“With 1Ls, the most important thing is to surround yourself with the right people – having mentors, having professors you can go to. I have a professor from my 1L year who I still go to about things because I trust her. I think it is really important for 1Ls to make friends with 2Ls and 3Ls. They can help you out, they can say, as a practical matter, ‘here are outlines I had,’ ‘here is a study book I had,’ ‘here is how this professor tests,’ so that you have a little more confidence going in. You don’t have to be so scared. I think for a while the best thing to do is to socialize, even if it has to be over Zoom.
“They should prioritize people who can keep them down to earth and encourage them a lot. My mentor helped me to get to the position with the NCBA. She has always been encouraging in so many ways. And if your school doesn’t assign mentors, you can still meet older students doing different stuff like pro bono work and other things. The biggest thing is finding people who can encourage you.”
Getting involved is a final recommendation she shares.
“Find something outside of classes that you love. I know a lot of people are really into pro bono work, and some people are into trial bar and moot court and things like that. And I think that is really important, too, because that is really enjoyable and outside of your classwork.”
Building healthy habits early on is especially significant.
“Law school is temporary, but your mental health isn’t. It is not going to last forever. It is just a couple of years. What is really going to matter in the long run is that you have taken care of yourself. And once you get into practice, that is going to be important as well.”
Jessica Junqueira is communications manager for the North Carolina Bar Association.