2 November 2024
Mental Health: Professional Responsibility & Ethical Issues
Event Recording
25 February 2020
Research shows that the lawyers are more at risk of mental health issues than the general population. There is increasing attention toward this topic and support for those affected.
This session is designed to consider the issue through the perspective of the rules and regulations that govern lawyers' ethical and professional conduct issues.
- Overview of mental health issues, incidence in the profession and resources available
- Review of general professional and ethical obligations (Consideration of Uniform Law and general principles: not specific for each state*)
- Dealing with the regulators re admission and application for and renewal of Practice Certificate
- Employment issues: obligations during recruitment and employment including discrimination and privacy considerations
- Mental Health First Aid
- Risk Management, Unprofessional Conduct and Professional Misconduct issues
- Impediments to disclosure and dealing with issues, stigma etc
- Duty to the Court and Duty to Client.
* This session concentrates on the Uniform Law and the general principles of disclosure of mental health issues at admission and by lawyers when applying for or renewal of a practising certificate. Each state is different and all jurisdictions cannot be covered in the 1 hour allocated for this session.
Provided by
Cathryn Urquhart
Facilitator & Lecturer at The College of Law
Professional Skills Trainer and Coach
Certified Teacher, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Course
Cathryn Urquhart studied Law at the University of Western Australia and was admitted in WA in 1988. She has had a diverse career working for national law firms mainly in Insurance and Construction litigation, as well as time spent as a Claims Solicitor at Law Mutual, the professional indemnity insurance section of the Law Society of WA. She has lectured and tutored at universities in WA.
Currently, Cathryn is the Facilitator of the Legal Practice Management Course at the College of Law in WA. She also has her own business and works for a range of law firms and other businesses as a Professional Skills Trainer and Coach.
Cathryn is also a Certified Teacher at the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute and delivers training in Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence to support leaders and others in the workplace: managing stress, improving focus, developing skills to assist in communication and collaboration, building empathy and compassion and high-level leadership skills.