The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
Preview No. 2, Season 2 -- Who is Emily Logan Stedman?
Ever wondered how the pressures of Big Law can shape one's journey to advocacy for mental health? Join me, Emily Logan Stedman, as I launch the second season of "The Grace Period" by sharing my personal story.
From my roots in Marietta, Georgia, to becoming a partner at Husch Blackwell, I recount the significant moments and challenges that have fueled my mission to support attorney wellbeing.
From teaching fifth graders in Arizona to navigating the demanding world of Midwest Big Law, discover how these experiences transformed my career and inspired my passion for destigmatizing mental health in the legal profession.
Expect an intimate conversation where I reveal the highs and lows of my journey, including the increased anxiety I faced and the coping mechanisms I adopted.
Learn how my roles within the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being have shaped my vision for a more humane legal industry.
This season, "The Grace Period" promises practical advice and key insights to help lawyers build sustainable, balanced practices. Tune in to understand the real-world impact of mental health advocacy in law and catch the premiere on September 24th.
Find out more at https://thegraceperiod.substack.com/.
Welcome to the Grace Period where we get real about attorney mental health and well-being and pull back the veil on the high-stakes world of big law. I'm your host, emily Logan Steadman. In this demanding profession, it is crucial that we don't lose ourselves in the hustle for billable hours. On the Grace Period, we have honest conversations about finding consistency, minimizing chaos, developing coping strategies and destigmatizing mental health. It is time to prioritize our shared humanity to find our grace period. This is the second trailer for season two of my podcast, the Grace Period. Season two will premiere on September 24th, but before then I wanted to share a little bit about me. Who is Emily Logan Steadman? I was born and raised in a suburb of Atlanta, georgia, marietta. For those that might be familiar, my mom was a first year law student, our 1L, when I was born. My early and surprise arrival actually interrupted her spring final exams and my dad was already practicing law and insurance. My birth announcement is actually a joke about them welcoming their newest associate, studman, and Studman welcome their newest associate. It's true, it's not a lie, and I have my birth announcement hanging in my office today. It hung in my room my whole life and recently I hung it in my office to remind me where I've come from.
Speaker 1:I went to college in North Carolina, at Wake Forest. I graduated in 2008 with a degree in history and Spanish classic humanities majors from a liberal arts school. Then I went on to teach fifth grade in Buckeye, arizona, which is a rural suburb of Phoenix. I was a 2008 core member with Teach for America. I taught all subjects to fifth graders for two years. Teaching deeply and profoundly impacted who I am today. Those were the two most transformative years of my life. Really, I loved teaching. I loved leading those 30 or so young minds, and being in the four walls of my classroom taught me about long hours, hard work, leadership, management and public speaking. Many of the systems I use today I honed while teaching, including monitoring my time. I ran my classroom on timers. We were a well-oiled machine and truly I am who I am today because of those students.
Speaker 1:After teaching in 2010, I began law school at the University of Mississippi, ole Miss. While there, I served as editor-in-chief of the Mississippi Law Journal and really honed my everlasting, lifelong love of college football, as well as good food and having and maintaining meaningful friendships. Some of my best friends in life are from those three years of law school. After law school, I moved to Milwaukee to clerk for Judge Pamela Pepper. She was then a bankruptcy judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. She then was nominated by President Obama for the District Court and I served her for a year and a half in each court and, as a result, I've called Milwaukee home since June of 2013.
Speaker 1:After my clerkship in 2016, I joined Midwest Big Law as an associate at Quarles and in November 2020, I transitioned to Hush Blackwell as a senior associate. Today I'm a partner at Hush Blackwell. I've been a partner for about eight months. Hush is an AMLA 100 firm. We have over a thousand attorneys and a nationwide footprint. I practice general commercial litigation within our technology, manufacturing and transportation strategic business unit.
Speaker 1:It was joining Big Law that brought on an increase in my anxiety and low mood. I sought solace, at first with colleagues, therapy and meditation, and ultimately I began talking more openly about the need for improving well-being in the law. This started with programming while I served as president of the Young Lawyers Division for the State Bar of Wisconsin and then as a committee chair for the Wisconsin Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, most recently, and then as a committee chair for the Wisconsin Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. Most recently, I've built a platform on LinkedIn and now Twitter, posting regularly on the realities of big law and the need to de-stigmatize lawyer mental health and well-being. With this podcast, I aim to provide bite-sized episodes, digestible in 15 minutes or less, with practical advice and key definitions. My goal is to shed light on what it is really like to practice in big law and what it means to build a sustainable practice with an eye on your well-being and mental health.
Speaker 1:Season two will premiere on September 24th. Health Season two will premiere on September 24th. Until then, I encourage you, if you haven't already, to check out season one, where I defined big law, defined and talked about tracking the billable hour and tried to provide concrete tips and tricks for managing your time and your practice so that you can succeed in big law and create a more sustainable path. Thank you for listening to the Grace Period and get ready for season two premiering on September 24th. Remember you don't have to sacrifice your well-being for career success. By prioritizing self-care, setting boundaries and seeking support, you can survive and even thrive in the law and in big law. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. That is the path to our grace period. Disclaimer this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice of any kind, including legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by listening to this podcast.
