Schiff Hardin Announces Expansion of Wellness Benefits

After stepping up as one of the first law firms to sign the ABA mental health pledge, these expanded offerings advance the firm’s ongoing wellness initiative.

Schiff Hardin LLP today announced an expansion of its wellness benefits to enhance the health and well-being of its more than 500 employees including attorneys and professional staff across the United States.

As one of the first law firms to sign the American Bar Association’s pledge in October to improve lawyer mental health and well-being, the expanded offerings are part of the firm’s holistic approach to ensuring a healthy and productive workplace. Schiff Hardin’s wellness initiative prioritizes self-care and addresses all aspects of wellness.

“There is no denying that working at a successful law firm is stressful, but we are intent on identifying ways to help our teams stay both physically and mentally healthy,” said Managing Partner Marci Eisenstein. “We want to offer a broad range of options that our people would find useful in their professional and personal lives.”

In May 2018, Schiff Hardin conducted an internal survey to identify wellness programs and other improvements that employees were most interested in and would have a positive impact on the work environment. Among the most popular items were an in-house chair massage program and weekly meditation sessions.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Western Ontario, participants reported an increase of 6.15 percent in job effectiveness and a decrease in stress by 32.45 percent after only eight weeks of meditation. With extensive scientific data like this showing the benefits of meditation, the firm launched its 13-week “Mindfulness and Meditation Program” this fall with two introductory sessions led by Jeena Cho, a well-known meditation teacher and lawyer. Weekly meditation sessions and a mobile app that offers additional meditation techniques are available to lawyers and staff in each Schiff Hardin office.

Schiff Hardin attorneys and staff can also sign up for in-house chair massages offered monthly by Infinite Massage (www.infinitemassage.com). Heading into 2019, Schiff Hardin expects to add formalized flexible work arrangements, and additional training and team-building programs to its offerings.

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