Online lawyer wellness CLE program
Our online CLE programs, like our in-person sessions, address issues including lawyer wellbeing, lawyer self-care, and lawyer mental health. One of the reasons our lawyer wellness continuing legal education programs have been so well received is that they are highly interactive. We use live surveys, small group discussions, large group brainstorming, and role-plays in most of our sessions. When we decided to offer the CLE online, we realized it wouldn't be easy, but it's possible.
Law firm retreats, state bar meetings, and even local bar associations rely on continuing legal education programs that provide education and expand the potential to increase interaction among members. While we continue to prefer to be in the room together, we are happy to report that our programs are not merely watching two talking heads. How do we take these interactive workshop online? Here are a few of the modifications that we have been exploring.
Small group discussions— During our in-person programs, we often break into small groups to share our experiences of practicing law and how the work creates stressed-out lawyers. To translate this experience in the online format, using zoom, we create random break out rooms. Participants may enjoy the opportunity to share their experiences in the small groups.
Use the online format to enrich the small group experience--One way we may add interest to the small group meetings is during the first meeting, the ice-breaker. Participants are tasked with finding and sharing a GIF in the chat feature of zoom to describe this statement: "Why no one understands why lawyers are stressed out." When we return to the large group, just like the in-person program, we share some GIFs and learn a little more about the online platform and a little more about our work.
Polls can help make online sessions more interactive.
Whiteboards—We have explored the option of using a shared whiteboard or "whiteboarding" in zoom to both expedite the answers and to engage everyone. The white board includes options such as typing text, drawing, erasing, spotlighting and creating text boxes. This feature replaces a flip chart that we might use when small groups report back their ideas or when brainstorming ideas.
Polls—In person, we usually start the sessions with a poll by asking questions true or false type questions participants. Testing the room to see who agrees with statements such as “I agree that sometimes the practice of law feels overwhelming” or “I personally know a colleague who has suffered from depression.” With zoom, we can use the polling option and participants can just select their response, that will appear on the screen.
Role plays—Some of our workshops include role-plays. Both Elliot and I have a lot of experience with role play as a training tool for lawyers and mediators, in person. In zoom, we simply use the break out room feature to place participants in the same small groups that we would in person. Each group receives their shared and individual instructions at the beginning of the session and the role play tends to work about the same as it would in person. Elliot and I circulate between rooms to watch, make comments, and answer questions. When we resume our large group, we often use the same techniques as we do with small group discussions.
Word cloud—Often, our workshops end with a reflective exercise. During this exercise, participants may write their reflections on a card, and we'd discuss it. Some groups end with each person summarizing their insight in a word or two as we go around the room. In the new online, interactive format, we can still go around the room with some groups and share these reflection, but we may prefer a tool unique to the online format: the word cloud. In the word cloud, participants go online to submit their words that may describe their reflections or insight from the workshop, the word cloud is generated and then shared on the screen as participants conclude the workshop.
Word clouds can help visualize ideas or concepts. We employ them at the end of the workshop.
Getting ready-When we are going online, we begin the workshop a little bit earlier. Since the program is online, we begin a few weeks before the workshop and take advantage of asynchronous communications. Using Basecamp 2, participants may join the prep group and offer input as to the specific contents of the training by participating in a survey, suggesting questions and recommending materials and may even be recruited to take a leadership role in the zoom conference. The goal of the preparation period is to be certain that everyone is engaged from the beginning!
Going online with our highly interactive sessions has not been easy. But we find that the lawyers in the room at our trainings are experts. Everyone understands the difficulties that we have accepted as immutable in our profession. We continue to explore and find new ways to be sure to include everyone's voice in our conversation as we work together to find ways to improve lawyer wellness.
Please call or email Brenda or Elliot to discuss how the online workshop may be the perfect agenda item for your firm retreat or bar meeting.