Our Interview With Janet Thompson Jackson, Founder & CEO of Well-Law

Janet Thompson Jackson is the Founder & CEO of Well-Law. We spoke with her about the importance of mental health in the legal profession—insights that align with Juris Education’s mission to simplify the admissions journey and help students maximize their law school acceptance chances.‍

1. Why do you believe mental health support is especially important in the legal profession?

Mental health and well-being in the legal profession are deeply personal to me. I’ve seen, and experienced, how law school and legal work can take a serious toll on a person’s emotional health.

When I was a 2L at Howard Law, my father died. I was already anxious and full of self-doubt, and his death added a layer of grief I didn’t know how to process. Like many law students, I pushed through instead of slowing down to heal. That experience showed me how easily high-achieving people in this field can ignore their own needs.

Today’s data confirms it: nearly 70% of law students report mental health challenges, and rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts are rising. Among practicing lawyers, 71% experience anxiety, 40% report depression, and over 75% say their work environment contributes to their struggles.

We’ve made progress, but the culture of chronic stress and perfectionism remains. Stress itself isn’t the problem, it’s how we relate to it, respond to it, and recover from it.

Without the skills and support to manage stress effectively, even the most capable lawyers begin to burn out, disengage, or lose sight of why their work matters. Meaningful mental health support isn’t a luxury in this profession, it’s essential.

2. What are the most common mental health challenges you see among law students and early-career lawyers?

One of the most common things I hear from law students and new lawyers is, “What am I doing wrong that I can’t balance school or work with the rest of my life?” The truth is, they’re not doing anything wrong. The idea of perfect work-life balance is a myth, especially in environments where the pace is relentless and the pressure rarely fully lets up.

The deeper issue is that many in the legal profession are navigating constant stress without the tools or support to recover from it. I see high levels of anxiety, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and chronic exhaustion. Many struggle with self-worth being tied entirely to performance. For first-generation students, people of color, and others underrepresented in the profession, these challenges can be amplified by isolation and the pressure to prove themselves.

What protects mental health in these settings isn’t avoiding stress, it’s learning how to meet it differently. The students and lawyers who thrive are those who cultivate clarity, resilience, and emotional agility. They learn to pause, reset, and realign instead of pushing through on empty.

So the goal isn’t balance -- it’s sustainability. It’s about building inner capacity to handle the demands of the work without losing connection to your well-being, values, or sense of purpose.

3. What services or resources does your program provide that might benefit aspiring or current law students?

Over years of teaching and coaching law students, I’ve seen how transformative it is when students feel part of a trusted community where they can talk openly about mental health, learn evidence-based tools, and practice strategies to manage stress in real time.

That’s the foundation of the Well-Law Student Group Coaching Program, a live, online small-group experience that connects law students across schools and helps them build the skills, support, and community they need to thrive.

Each month focuses on a key theme such as healthy boundaries, burnout prevention, professional identity, conflict navigation, or effective communication. Students can join weekly sessions offered at various times to fit different schedules and time zones. Groups are capped at 24 participants to allow for personalized coaching, meaningful discussion, and shared learning.

Every session includes a practical wellness tool like meditation, breathwork, or reflective writing, and the students keep a digital worksheet from the session. Participants also receive a Well-Law App subscription for continued support between sessions.

4. How can law schools better support students’ mental health, and what role should institutions play in creating healthier environments?

As Chair of the Board of Directors of the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program (KALAP), I’ve seen how visible, consistent support within law schools makes a real difference. When KALAP staff host regular “Coffee with KALAP” visits at Washburn Law School, students who might never have reached out for help often do, simply because the resource feels approachable and present in their daily environment.

But beyond access to assistance, law schools can lead by embedding well-being into the fabric of legal education. That means integrating wellness into the curriculum, normalizing honest conversations about mental health, and ensuring faculty and administrators model self-care, boundaries, and vulnerability.

Equally important is rethinking how we view recovery. Recovery isn’t the same as semester breaks or vacations -- it’s intentional, regular time away from studying or assignments to reset the mind and body. These can be short pauses built into the day or longer, more structured recovery breaks. Just as elite athletes understand that performance depends on rest as much as training, law students need recovery to sustain focus, creativity, and resilience. That’s why I recommend recovery as a core component of professional identity formation.

5. How can law students and future lawyers build sustainable practices to manage stress, burnout, and work-life balance long term?

Sustainable performance and meaningful well-being aren’t opposing forces; in fact, they can reinforce one another. Law students and future lawyers can protect both by building small, consistent habits that help their minds and bodies recover from the intensity of the work.

A few practices I often teach:

• Redefine recovery. Build in short, intentional pauses throughout the day, like three minutes of deep breathing between classes, a walk before opening email, or simply closing your eyes and taking a deep breath to reset your focus. Recovery doesn’t necessarily require time away; it’s more about maintenance for your nervous system.
• Set healthy boundaries early. Learn to distinguish between excellence and perfection. Protect time for sleep, movement, and relationships with the same discipline you give your studies or work.
• Anchor yourself before reacting. When stress spikes, pause to notice your breath and physical state before deciding how to respond. This brief reset helps shift from reactivity to clarity.
• Stay connected. Seek out peers, mentors, or coaching communities that normalize the challenges of the profession. Isolation accelerates burnout; connection restores perspective.
• Align action with values. Regular reflection -- through journaling, meditation, or coaching -- helps you stay grounded in why you’re doing the work, not just how much you’re doing.

These aren’t one-time fixes, they are lifelong skills. When law students, future lawyers, and all legal professionals learn to recover, reflect, and recalibrate regularly, they build the endurance to thrive, without losing themselves in the process.

If you need more information about the Well-Law services, call 301-281-7220 or email team@parapluwellness.com.

We're proud to feature insights from leaders like Janet Thompson Jackson, to help pre-law students better understand how to care for their mental health throughout the demanding journey to law school.