Lowenstein Sandler’s Mental Health & Wellness (MHW) employee resource group is celebrating the completion of a months-long initiative aimed at raising awareness of the importance of mental health, in which the firm’s lawyers and professional staff members custom designed a set of 24 rocking chairs that have been displayed throughout the firm’s New Jersey and New York offices. Multiple firm employee resource groups, including the Diversity Leadership Network, the LGBTQ+ Alliance, and Lowenstein Employees Advancing Diversity, helped support the effort.
Amy Komoroski Wiwi, partner in the firm’s Employment practice and co-chair of the Mental Health & Wellness group, led the initiative. She says: “I have always loved rocking chairs, especially the ones gathering dust in someone’s attic or back room. The motion is soothing, rhythmic, and familiar. That they seemed old fashioned, of a bygone era when folks could sit and settle and think, made them a strong medium for raising mental health awareness at the firm.”
The initiative aimed to engage participants in several ways: first, groups assembled during lunch and on weekends to paint and decorate the chairs. Each chair incorporates the color green, the official color of Mental Health Awareness, and is uniquely decorated with stencils, crochet coverings, embroidered pillows, and emblems like the semicolon, a symbol of suicide awareness.
“One component to mental illness is loneliness,” says Wiwi. “By offering our colleagues a chance to take a little time out of their busy day to be creative and engage with others while also supporting an important cause, we are making proactive and positive efforts towards contributing to each other’s wellbeing.”
Secondly, the colorful chairs were placed throughout the firm’s common areas, serving as an important reminder to all of the need to “take a break;” providing a restful spot to sit and relax either alone or with a companion; and spurring dialogue and contemplation of the importance of mental health.
“In our highly stressful industry, everyone should appreciate the need to sometimes step aside for a brief moment, either by yourself or with a friend, and assess your perspective,” Wiwi says.
Wiwi believes the program offered a fun and informative way for Lowenstein lawyers, staff, and the wider community to learn more about the mental health and wellness issues that significantly impact individuals working in the legal industry. She says: “Whether you painted a chair, shopped for a gently used chair, or simply took a minute to sit in a chair, we hope we gave everyone some insight and empathy into the challenges that we all face at one time or another, and that we offered them a brief respite from the stressors we all confront on a daily basis.”
The chairs will be auctioned off as a fundraiser on August 27at Lowenstein’s Roseland, NJ offices to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Participants who purchase the Lowenstein rocking chairs are invited to keep them in their home or office or donate them to an organization supporting mental health services or awareness. To bid on one of these chairs, click here. To make a contribution to NAMI, click here.
Lowenstein Sandler’s Mental Health & Wellness (MHW) employee resource group aims to bring together Lowenstein attorneys and professional staff members to learn about mental health and wellness, while building relationships and engaging in various activities, in a safe and confidential environment. MHW focuses on equipping members with strategies to deal with the stressors of life, by highlighting firm benefits geared towards improved mental health, by supporting those struggling with mental health challenges, and by normalizing the idea of seeking help for mental health issues. MHW aims to influence and educate the rest of the firm on mental health and wellness issues and further incorporate mental health and wellness strategies into firm policies and trainings.
About Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Lowenstein Sandler is a national law firm with over 350 lawyers based in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents leaders in virtually every sector of the global economy, with particular emphasis on investment funds, life sciences, and technology. Recognized for its entrepreneurial spirit and high standard of client service, the firm is committed to the interests of its clients, colleagues, and communities.
