The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) celebrated the 2020-21 and 2021-22 bar years with a delayed annual Law Day celebration on Thurs., Sept. 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown St. Louis.

[CW: Suicide] I looked at my phone and noticed I had an inordinate number of missed calls. I immediately called the first number I saw and upon listening to the other person, dropped my phone in disbelief: my best friend had taken their own life.

With the 2021 Summer Olympics, a different spotlight started to shine on the athletes, those that we hold to a very high physical standard and who we likely assume have a very high level of physical well-being. When Simone Biles, the most decorated U.S. female gymnast (with 32 World/Olympic medals) withdrew from most events, the conversation started to shift to athletes' mental health. Discussions started happening everywhere about how one may be physically well, but not mentally well. It is impossible to ignore that our mental health affects our physical health and performance.

As I write this column, we are making final preparations for this year’s annual Bench & Bar conference at Camden on the Lake. Our 2020 conference was entirely virtual, but we are back live (with a virtual option) for 2021. As of this writing, we expected to have a full crowd in attendance, including 46 judges. It seems that people are eager to get back together in a fun, relaxed setting.

The culture we work in asks us to make several sacrifices in the name of going for gold. To make matters worse, we internalize this culture in the name of "job security," performing at our best, or fitting in. It can be a little too easy to confuse your definition of success with the one the firm gives you. We quickly learn to give up sleep, nutrition, and leisure. (Read: things that keep us healthy.) The hang up is that health is not an impediment to success. Success is wholly dependent on it.

The 2021 BAMSL Golf Outing at Greenbriar Hills Country Club in Kirkwood, Mo., was a success and "back to normal." This year's event sold out weeks before the event took place on June 14, 2021.

Having a career that interests me has never been an issue for me; picking between two career paths has been the challenge. I find myself bouncing between medicine and law, two careers that fill me with passion.

My "gratitude attitude" is well known. And I am certainly grateful to BAMSL for this opportunity to highlight the YLD Award of Merit honorees I chose for their service during the 2020-21 bar year.

BAMSL to Celebrate Law Day 2021 with special guest, journalist George Will, at The Four Seasons on Sept. 9. 

Most people, lawyers included, are not thrilled to find a reporter at their doorstep or on the other end of the phone. It might be tempting to say "no comment," or to let the call go to a voicemail you have no intention of returning. But before giving a nosy reporter the brush-off, lawyers should consider the benefits, as well as the risks, of interacting with the media.