News Archive

Five IU McKinney students recently spoke as panelists at the Indiana Supreme Court Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP)’s annual volunteer retreat.

The students, Julianne Nolan, Madi Hernandez, Denise Chisveto, Sterling Satterfield, and Priya Malik, shared how they keep well-being front and center during the law school experience and what they wanted JLAP volunteers to know about law school today, according to Brittany Kelly, J.D., ’16, deputy director of JLAP.

In a photo taken at the retreat, (from left) Satterfield, Hernandez, Kelly, Chisveto, Malik and Nolan, posed with JLAP therapy dogs Judge (left) and Big Guy.

JLAP provides confidential assistance to judges, lawyers, and law students across the state. JLAP is dedicated to the well-being of the legal profession and provides support for issues such as caregiving, burnout, compassion fatigue, law school stress, career change, mental health, and substance use disorders. JLAP encourages people to seek support when they are well, to make sure they have all the necessary tools in place if life gets hard, according to Kelly.

The program relies on volunteers to connect a legal practitioner or law student with a peer who has been through a similar life experience. The retreat was designed to equip JLAP volunteers with the knowledge and training to make them the best mentors possible.

“The McKinney students’ insights, vulnerability, and eloquence were unmatched,” says Kelly. “I was so proud of them, and I know our JLAP volunteers learned so much from them.”

Interested in volunteering for JLAP? Contact Kelly, JLAP’s Deputy Director, at Brittany.Kelly@courts.in.gov. A range of volunteer opportunities exist, from acting as an advocate for JLAP in your workplace, to mentoring a colleague with a similar lived experience, or presenting with JLAP staff on a topic of well-being. If you are in need of JLAP services, please call the JLAP office at (317) 833-0370 or find JLAP online at https://www.in.gov/courts/jlaphelps/.