I am writing this column from the airplane on the long flight home to St. Louis and am seated with the newly retired Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, and a 12-year-old boy who just spent the summer with his uncle fishing in California.

It was not easy for Chris to ask for this meeting, but he knew if he did not, he could lose his law license, or his marriage, or worse, his life.

You went through all the reasons you need to exercise (more energy, lose a few pounds, keep up with the kids, etc.) and have finally decided you are going to start exercising. So, you put on your new gym shirt and shoes and suddenly it hits you: "What do I do? How do I know if what I plan on doing will help me with my particular reason for starting this?"

I was depressed, anxious and looking for relief in alcohol. I was making those around me miserable. My family was suffering with me.

Zoe Linza, Executive Director for the past 13 years of The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL), was presented with the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) Bolton Award. The award is NABE's highest honor recognizing Outstanding Bar Leadership. Linza received the award on Aug. 9, 2019, at the NCBP/NABE/NCBF Joint Luncheon in San Francisco, Calif.

You might wonder why BAMSL needs a Well-Being Committee. After all, what does wellness and well-being have to do with practicing law? BAMSL leadership organized the committee in response to concerns about epidemics affecting lawyer health.

August is Health and Wellness Month at BAMSL. Visit https://www.bamsl.org/WellBeing to learn about all the great activities planned.

View the Nominating Committee members and important elections dates at https://www.bamsl.org/2020Elections

I have many memories of my first semester at the University of Missouri—Columbia School of Law. […] There are few things during that semester that I remember as vividly as the 1L presentation focused on lawyer health and wellness. The presenter spoke to us about the statistics surrounding lawyer addiction to drugs and alcohol and told us about how stressful this profession can be and how important it is to develop healthy habits and mechanisms to deal with stress, including exercise.

The Saint Louis Bar Foundation and The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) has partnered with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to assist self-represented litigants with completion of initial filings and case review. The St. Louis Federal Court Legal Advice Clinic (LAC), located on the third floor at the Eagleton Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, will open on August 7, 2019.