MEDIA KIT

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK:

As the world reels from pandemics, economic shocks, environmental crises and other urgent humanitarian needs, Lawyers across practice areas must learn not only the skills of counseling and advocacy, but also of managing trauma—our own, and that of our clients. This book is a primer on Trauma-Informed Lawyering, and a starting point for resilience and even healing.

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK:

As the world reels from pandemics, economic shocks, environmental crises and other urgent humanitarian needs, Lawyers must learn not only the skills of counseling and advocacy but also of managing trauma—our own, and that of our clients. This book is a primer on Trauma-Informed Lawyering for effective legal practice, and a starting point for resilience and even Healing.

Inside, you will find a diverse chorus of voices who courageously address the many intersections of trauma and law that are too often denied, ignored or avoided across practice areas. The focus is on dealing with the impact of trauma on Lawyers and Clients, Courts and Judges, Legal Education, and the Legal System. We explore the difficult and triggering aspects of our work across practice areas from both an analytical and experiential perspective, providing insight, stories, guidance, and practices that promote a healthy balance of work and well-being.

Trauma-informed lawyering is a relational model for practicing law that acknowledges the presence of trauma and its impact on the legal system, responds to indicators of trauma with human needs in mind, and seeks to prevent re-traumatization. It adopts four core elements for working with Clients, Colleagues, Students, and Communities:

— Emotionally intelligent and psychologically informed approaches to legal work that often increase client satisfaction.

— Client-focused service design strategies that meet core stakeholder needs.

— Wellbeing supports that reflect the priorities in the ABA wellbeing pledge and related reports on lawyer wellbeing.

— Social impact including improving or providing support for access to justice, access to legal services, and legal outcomes.

As leaders, Lawyers must learn to navigate the barriers created by trauma to ensure access to

justice and effective legal services for all. Trauma-informed Lawyering is at once inspiration, toolkit, and a guidebook for practicing law in a new world.

BOOK ENDORSEMENT:

“As a physician who long worked with a desperately addicted and mentally ill population, I regard this book as a breakthrough contribution. It addresses the crucial issue, lamentably ignored in both medical and legal education, of the traumatic sources—voluminously documented in scientific literature—of much criminalized behavior. It also highlights, compassionately, the emotional needs of people working in the justice system. An essential and long-overdue perspective.” —Gabor Maté MD, CM, author of the New York Times bestseller The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Name: Helgi Maki

Title: Executive Coach, Consultant and Director, Generativity Co. (and former lawyer)

Headshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16tqbP29umNDYhWH3NO8y8EVEF-BS40Eh/view?usp=share_link

Short Bio:

Helgi Maki is a Consultant and Executive Coach. She helps Lawyers improve their resilience skills to benefit their legal practice and well-being, and improve client satisfaction.

She is a Trauma-Informed Lawyering advocate and Principal of Generativity Co., a Coaching & Consulting company for Legal Professionals.

Helgi is an Editor & Co-author of a forthcoming book on Trauma-Informed Lawyering to be published by the American Bar Association, practice management division.

Helgi previously was a partner at a large national law firm. She is a graduate of UofT Law School, has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and uses her extensive training in resilience skills and trauma to provide training to Legal Professionals. She has been featured in numerous Bar Association, law school and other law organizations events on trauma, resilience and related topics (such as Human Rights).

FULL BIO

Helgi Maki is a Consultant and Executive Coach. She helps lawyers improve their resilience skills to benefit their legal practice and well-being, and improve client satisfaction.

Helgi Maki is a graduate of University of Toronto Faculty of Law with an M.A. in Political Economy from Carleton University (Norman Paterson School of International Affairs). She joined the Ontario Bar in 2003 and the New York Bar in 2005. Helgi is an Executive Coach and Consultant who helps lawyers use resilience skills to assist clients more effectively and improve their own career satisfaction (including wellbeing). She incorporates mindfulness practices into her work, drawing on over seven years of mindfulness instructor & movement teacher training. Previously, she was a partner at a large law firm and has done Legal Technology & Data Analytics Consulting. Helgi advocates for Trauma-Informed Lawyering to increase access to justice, improve client service and support lawyer wellbeing.

Her work is featured in the Canadian Supreme Court Law Review and the “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)” conference series convened by California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. Helgi is the Co-editor and Co-author of a forthcoming book on Trauma-Informed Lawyering by the American Bar Association (Law Practice Management Division).

In addition, Helgi has worked on various pro bono advocacy projects including helping victim-witnesses of interpersonal violence advocate for federal judicial training on the connection between sexual assault and trauma, legislation for which came into force in May 2021.

FOR MORE DETAILS, SEE:

https://helgimaki.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/helgimaki/

Websites:

Project website: https://www.traumainformedlaw.org/

Coaching website: https://helgimaki.co/

Social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helgimaki

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelgiMaki/

Please contact us if you need additional information.