President's Letter
October 2025 Letter
Dear Sisters in the Law
Did you know that October 5-11 is recognized as Mental Illness Awareness Week? With the statistics on lawyer mental health consistently reporting negative realities about how the law affects us even after we leave our desks, I think it is of critical importance that we don't shy away from conversations centered around our mental health. A year or so ago, I had the opportunity to moderate a discussion for a mental health CLE SCWLA sponsored featuring April Simpkins. April is the mother of 2019 Miss USA, Cheslie Kryst. Cheslie was a graduate of the University of South Carolina having been an award winning member of their track and field team, and was a member of both the South Carolina and North Carolina bars. As high achieving as she was, Cheslie silently battled with mental health challenges that ultimately resulted in her dying by suicide in 2022. I shared at the introduction of that presentation that I had never been so personally affected by the death of someone I had not actually met personally. As a former pageant competitor myself, I admired her from afar. In my eyes, Cheslie was the blueprint and had achieved it all. Yet, the outward accomplishments did not fill the void she was feeling inside. If we are honest, we all are battling with something we’ve probably never shared or maybe even something we are too scared to even really acknowledge to ourselves. But if I have even the slightest bit of influence with you, can I challenge you to check in with yourself? Take a moment to pause and ask yourself if you are giving yourself the time, space, and resources, you need to be your best self. Assess what changes may need to be made in your life to get there. Is it time for a job change? A vacation? Just a day off? Do you need a therapist or maybe just a new one? Are there people around you that would be there to help you through some of life’s challenges if only they knew you needed it?
Humans are not wired to do life alone and there is no shame in needing help to get through life’s challenges. There are numerous resources at our disposal from Lawyers Helping Lawyers to most of our jobs providing Employee Assistance Programs that provide us access to free counseling sessions. Will you take the month of October to take care of you? I am going to hold myself to doing the same.
I'm here for you.
Your Sister in the Law,
Allyce Bailey
