Papa held meditation sessions at her trademarked Mindfulness Lounge throughout each day of the three-day conference, in which she took participants on different visualized journeys.
During an introduction to mindfulness and guided meditation session at the conference Tuesday, Papa asked a group of about 20 legal operations professionals if they have seven minutes in their day to meditate.
"If you don't have seven minutes for your well-being, we need to talk," Papa said.
The conference was the institute's first live conference since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The institute canceled its 2020 conference and held a virtual conference in 2021.
This is the first time the conference offered a mindfulness space and guided meditations, according to Betsi Roach, executive director of CLOC.
Roach told Law360 Pulse that the institute wanted to have wellness and engagement offerings at the conference because it is the first live event many people have been to since the start of the pandemic.
"We could have just done the basics and called it a day, and it would have been good enough, but that's not what CLOC is all about," she said during the conference's opening session.
The legal industry has taken steps to address the mental health of those in ranks, but stress and anxiety is still high. Of nearly 800 lawyers and 300 support staff surveyed by the Institute for Well-Being in Law in January, 63% of lawyers and 51% of support staff reported some level of burnout.
Meditation is one tool that more companies can offer their employees, Papa said, noting that she hopes in the future every meeting has a mindfulness component.
In addition to meditation, the wellness and engagement offerings at the conference included daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, a career center and workshops on brain health and connecting with people.
Papa said in a recent interview that having meditation at a conference is beneficial because research shows that after quiet time and meditation, people retain information better and are more open to new ideas.
The length of time that people spend meditating doesn't matter, as long as they continue practicing meditation, according to Papa.
As for what she hopes people take away from her guided meditations, Papa said, "I hope people find the relief that they seek."
--Editing by Brian Baresch.
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