Buffering Burnout: Preparing the Online Generation for the Occupational Hazards of the Legal Profession

51 Pages Posted: 10 May 2014 Last revised: 21 Oct 2018

See all articles by Brittany Stringfellow Otey

Brittany Stringfellow Otey

Pepperdine University - Rick J. Caruso School of Law

Date Written: March 3, 2014

Abstract

This article explores legal education’s “elephant in the classroom”: the innate psychological toll of the legal profession and legal education’s failure to adequately prepare law students for that reality. This article will address the increasing need for reform by: 1) examining several unique qualities of Millennials and their use of technology; 2) exploring the occupational hazards of lawyering, namely stress, burnout and compassion fatigue; 3) identifying the ways in which technology increases Millennials’ vulnerability to these occupational hazards and subsequent professional impairments; and 4) providing best practices and preventative tools to be used in a professional formation curriculum aimed at preparing Millennial students to thrive in legal practice.

Keywords: professional responsibility, professional formation, burnout, vicarious trauma, self-care, well-being

Suggested Citation

Stringfellow Otey, Brittany, Buffering Burnout: Preparing the Online Generation for the Occupational Hazards of the Legal Profession (March 3, 2014). Buffering Burnout: Preparing the Online Generation for the Occupational Hazards of the Legal Profession, 23 S. Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 143 (2014)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2434766

Brittany Stringfellow Otey (Contact Author)

Pepperdine University - Rick J. Caruso School of Law ( email )

24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.pepperdine.edu/academics/faculty/default.php?faculty=brittany_stringfellow

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