Wellness at Blank Rome
One of the pillars of Blank Rome’s Strategic Plan is to foster and promote a high-performance culture.
We believe that individual physical, mental, emotional, occupational, societal, and financial well-being are essential components of the firm’s high-performance culture. Not only is attorney and professional staff well-being the foundation for the optimal performance of our firm, but it is also critical to successful client outcomes. We are committed to promoting and maintaining the well-being of everyone at the firm.
Blank Rome was one of the initial signatories to the ABA Well-Being Pledge. We support our commitment with the following firm wellness initiatives.
Well-Being Committee
Our Well-Being Committee is made up of a diverse group of attorneys and professional staff. It includes three subcommittees: Physical Well-Being, Emotional/Mental Well-Being, and Occupational/Societal/Financial Well-Being.
Annual Well-Being Week in Law
The firm participates annually in the Institute for Well-Being in Law’s “Well-Being Week in Law” to raise awareness about mental health, encourage innovation, and improve well-being for lawyers, legal administrative professionals, and others involved in the legal industry.
Wellness Seminar Series
Among other speakers, the firm has developed an ongoing partnership with a University of Pennsylvania Law School professor to facilitate a series of wellness seminars for Blank Rome’s attorneys and professional staff, held by peer groups to foster greater participation.
Be Ready Be Well Challenges
Be Ready Be Well Challenges encompass physical, financial, and work/life wellness components, and bring together the various benefits offered by the firm, including challenges via a wellness app that offer significant monetary incentives for the winners. Participation in the challenges has crossed all areas of the firm.
Headspace
To help our employees stay healthy, active, focused, and productive, Blank Rome offers a free, full-access subscription to Headspace firm-wide starting in 2022. Headspace is a science-backed tool that helps create life-changing habits to support mental and physical health and happiness. It includes guided meditations for stress, focus, and productivity; sleepcasts and bedtime audio for restful nights; short videos for daily inspiration; and quick workouts and guided cardio for body and mind.
For Our Attorneys
As part of the firm’s Leadership Development Program, we have shared the ABA Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being Report and other resources to raise awareness around wellness issues and have facilitated discussions as to how to spot the potential signs of substance abuse.
The firm has held mandatory “Lawyer Well-Being” sessions for all our attorneys regarding addiction and substance abuse. The sessions generated greater awareness and prompted productive discussions firm-wide.
As part of our orientation and on-boarding program for first-year associates, we offer a program on developing resilience and handling stress.
We have also made it a priority to host social events with programming focused on health and well-being, while de-emphasizing alcohol.
For our summer associates, we host activities focused on health and well-being. Summer associates also participated in a wellness “hackathon.” Building from their summer experience, they were asked to make recommendations for how the firm can help associates address their own well-being and advance health and wellness throughout the firm.
To learn more about Blank Rome's wellness programs, please contact Beth Friel at beth.friel@blankrome.com or 215.569.5375 or Donna M. Branca at donna.branca@blankrome.com or 215.569.5751.