Raising the Bar for Connection: Promoting High-Quality Connections to Improve Lawyers' Well-being

The legal profession is facing a mental health crisis, with lawyers experiencing higher rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse compared to other professions. This alarming trend highlights the need for targeted interventions to promote mental well-being and resilience in the legal community. In response, the Utah State Bar seeks to improve attorney well-being through the New Lawyer Training Program (NLTP) by leveraging research on positive psychology interventions and high-quality connections. This paper begins with a comprehensive situation analysis of the Bar's needs, followed by an in-depth literature review on positive psychology interventions, high-quality connections, and research on attorney well-being. Based on these findings, a 30-minute e-learning Train-the-Trainer (TTT) module targeting mentorship in the NLTP is proposed to promote the flourishing of Utah lawyers by fostering high-quality connections. The paper presents four positive interventions aimed at promoting high-quality connections in the early stages of mentor-mentee relationships, along with a storyboard for an e-learning module, and a detailed planning to produce it.