2026 Lawyer Wellness Retreat

Thursday, October 15, 2026 -- Sunday, October 18, 2026

Treetops Resort, Gaylord, Michigan

Register for the first ever Lawyer Wellness Retreat hosted by the Negligence Section and American Board of Trial Advocates.

Please scroll down, BELOW the location/map details, to view our complete agenda. You can also . Please note: agenda is subject to change.

Registration Rate - $799

Housing accommodations are NOT included in the registration fee. Reservation information will be sent in a follow-up email. Reservations need to be made on your own, within our group block at Treetops Resort. Hotel room rates are set for $160/night, plus daily resort fee and taxes.

For hotel reservations, please call: 855-261-8764

For our reduced rate, provide our group name: Negligence Section.

Accommodations are available in both King and Queen rooms, from 10/15/26 – 10/18/26, at $160/night + resort fee ($20) + taxes.
Room reservations must be made prior to Monday, August 31, 2026. Availability after 8/31/26 is not guaranteed.
Hotel check-in time: 5:00 p.m.
Check-out time: 12:00 p.m.

Cancellation Policy:

If you cancel prior to 9/1/26 - a $200.00 fee will be retained for processing. The remainder of the registration rate, less online transaction fees, will be refunded. If you cancel on or after 9/1/26 - 100% non-refundable.
Should you need to cancel, we encourage you to secure a person to attend in your place, instead. The section can transfer registration from one person to another without assessing any fees.

Info: We’ll open with reflections on the toll of practice - constant exposure to suffering, conflict, and high client expectations - and explore why well-being and civility are not luxuries but professional skills. Participants will set retreat norms of trust, confidentiality, and curiosity.

Info: Legal professionals are often seen only through the lens of their role: tough, strategic, adversarial. This session invites participants to surface the joys and burdens they carry privately, and to articulate their core values. What do you want clients, litigants, colleagues, and adversaries to truly see in you? How can values guide your work?

Info: Legal practice places lawyers and judges at the center of human suffering. Empathy for clients and litigants is natural, but when empathy becomes over-identification, it drains resilience and clouds judgment. This session draws a sharp line between empathy and professional compassion. Through case scenarios and guided reflection, participants will practice shifting from “feeling with” clients to “acting for” them, so they can advocate effectively while sustaining their own well-being.

Info: Good legal work and judgment depends on noticing details others miss, both in people and in cases. Yet constant hurry and distraction erode this capacity. This session blends research and practice to sharpen attention: noticing your client’s needs, noticing your adversary’s humanity, and noticing when your own well-being is at risk.

Info: Legal work often puts lawyers and judges face-to-face with aggressive tactics, angry clients, and their own stress responses. This session explores how our brains react under pressure (negativity bias, “amygdala hijack”) and offers tools to shift from reactivity to purposeful response.

Info: Lawyers and judges rarely extend themselves the compassion they offer to clients. This session introduces self-compassion as a practical skill for legal professionals, drawing on mindfulness, kindness, and recognition of shared humanity. Participants will design personal strategies for sustaining themselves in tough cases.

Info: What would it look like to practice law in a way that sustains rather than drains you? Through guided reflection and discussion, participants will envision the kind of legal professional they want to be, then identify daily habits, boundaries, and professional practices that align with that vision.

Info: Adversarial work can take a toll on all of us. The life of a lawyer and judge can leave a toll that standard "self-care" advice rarely addresses. This session introduces restorative practices drawn from contemplative traditions and trauma-informed care, adapted for legal professionals. Participants will learn and experience brief practices for processing difficult professional moments, reconnecting with purpose after setbacks, and creating rituals of transition between work and life. The goal isn't to "fix" what's hard about legal practice, but to build a repertoire of tools for dealing with its inevitable costs.

Info: A collective reflection on key insights. Each participant will articulate one concrete practice to carry into their work to enhance well-being, compassion, and civility.

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Host or Publisher SBM Negligence Law Section