WellnessCast™ Conversation with Anne Brafford, JD, MAPP, Author of Positive Professionals: Creating High-Performing, Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement

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WellnessCast™ Conversation with Anne Brafford, JD, MAPP, Author of Positive Professionals:  Creating High-Performing, Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement

WellnessCast™ Conversation with Anne Brafford, JD, MAPP, Author of Positive Professionals: Creating High-Performing, Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement

What are three things a managing partner in Biglaw should do if she is concerned about attrition at the firm?  What are mindsets and how should law firm associates and partners use them to create a more positive work life?  How should firms encourage their associates to grow by valuing psychological safety over perfection?  Join Stanford Law Professor Joe Bankman and Sarah Weinstein, a lawyer and psychotherapist, for an uplifting conversation with positive organizational psychology expert, Anne Brafford, JD, MAPP, as she shares a few of the many valuable insights in her new book, Positive Professionals: Creating High-Performing, Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement.  In addition to offering specific guidance for creating more positive firms, the episode begins with a particularly poignant ‘hard moment’ from Anne, where she shares an experience of choosing to be a good human being, instead of an aggressive lawyer, during a deposition.  We end with a discussion of our experiences trying out the wellness technique from last month and hearing about a stress mindset technique that Anne uses to thrive in her own life.

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WellnessCast™ Conversation with Anne Brafford, JD, MAPP, Author of Positive Professionals: Creating High-Performing, Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement 1

Anne Brafford, author of Positive Professionals:  Creating High-Performing, Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement, is a founding member of Aspire, an educational and consulting firm for the legal profession. She is the Chairperson of the American Bar Association Law Practice Division’s Attorney Well-Being Committee and a member of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being (a consortium of ABA entities). She served as the Editor-in-Chief and as a co-author of the Task Force’s 2017 Report, “The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practice Recommendations for Positive Change.” The report outlines the current state of well-being in the legal profession and provides recommendations tailored to its many stakeholders, including law firms and law schools.

In 2014, Anne left her job as an equity partner in employment litigation at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP after 18 years of practice to focus on thriving in the legal profession. Anne earned her J.D. in 1996 with high distinction and special honors. In 2014, she earned a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania. Her Master’s Capstone, Building the Positive Law Firm, was selected for special honors by the faculty as among the top 5 in the class.

Anne now is pursuing her Ph.D. in Positive Organizational Psychology at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) in Southern California. She researches topics related to boosting thriving in the legal profession, including positive leadership, work engagement, meaningful work, high-quality motivation, and retention of women lawyers. Since 2014, she has been a Teaching Assistant in the MAPP program for Dr. Martin Seligman and, for two years, served in that same role at CGU for Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi—the co-founders of Positive Psychology.

 

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