Seeking Safe Places in Uncertain Times: The Psychological Implications of the Practice and Profession of Law as a Full-Contact Sport (Presented by the Federal Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Committee (Mental Health Awareness))

Katherine Earle Yanes | Kynes, Markman & Felman, P.A.

Katherine Earle Yanes concentrates her practice in the areas of criminal defense, appeals, and postconviction relief. In 1997, she graduated from Stetson University College of Law, magna cum laude, as valedictorian of her class. Following law school, Ms. Yanes served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Since 1999, she has successfully represented defendants at the trial, appellate, and postconviction phases of criminal litigation in federal and state courts, as well as in government investigations. Ms. Yanes has served as President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, President of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Trial and Litigation Section, Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section, and Journal Editor of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

Katherine Earle Yanes was awarded the 2021 Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers’ President’s Award in appreciation of outstanding service to HAWL. Ms. Yanes was also awarded the 2017 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for her outstanding pro bono service and the 2017 Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers Pro Bono Award. She was also awarded the 2017 Woman Lawyer of Achievement Award for excellence and integrity in her field by The Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. Additionally, in 2015, the Hillsborough County Bar Association Criminal Law Section awarded Ms. Yanes the Marcelino “Bubba” Huerta Award for pro bono service and the pursuit of equal justice, and the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association recognized Ms. Yanes as Mentor of the Year. In 2010, Ms. Yanes was given the President’s Award by the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers for her outstanding service to the organization.

Organizers of the Event

Daniel Bencivenga, Term Law Clerk | Middle District of Florida

Daniel “Danny” Bencivenga graduated from University of Florida Levin College of Law and now serves as a law clerk in the Middle District of Florida.

Bryan J. Branon, Principal | Branon’s ADR

Bryan J. Branon, J.D., Principal, Branon’s ADR, is an international arbitrator, mediator and business development strategist whose career has focused on the intersection of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and public policy. A former law clerk on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Court of International Trade, and intern in the Irish Parliament, Bryan has worked for several leading ADR provider organizations on four continents over 15 years where he helped establish the Afghanistan Centre for Commercial Dispute Resolution, the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution and the International Mediation Institute. He is a founding member of the

Tashkent International Arbitration Centre “45” Steering Committee and previously served as the Ciarb Regional Relationship Manager for the Americas, the first Americas-based employee in its 107-year-history, where he established the Ciarb Americas headquarters and helped found the first Spanish-speaking branch in Ciarb history, Peru.

Bryan subscribes to a motto of, “it pays to volunteer,” and champions the value of voluntary bar associations which have allowed him to distinguish himself in the highly competitive international ADR profession. In addition to being nationally elected Secretary of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) International Section, Bryan was elected Treasurer of the FBA Washington, D.C. Chapter and serves by FBA Presidential Appointment as Vice-Chair of the FBA Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is the former Chair of the FBA ADR Section and has held numerous posts at the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution including Council Member, Inaugural Fellow and an “Advocate for the ABA.”

Bryan graduated cum laude from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont with a B.S. in Political Science and a minor in Journalism and Mass Communication and earned his J.D. and mediator certification from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and its Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution in New York, New York. He is licensed to practice in Washington, D.C.

Bryan frequently lectures, publishes and consults on diversity, equity and inclusion, international ADR systems design, neutral appointments, and ADR strategy, procedure and contract clause considerations. He welcomes arbitrator and mediator appointments, consultancy, speaking, training and publishing inquiries both in the U.S.A. and abroad.

I. Understanding the psychological landscape of legal practice | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

• Stressors unique to the legal profession
• Data and studies on lawyer mental health
• The “full-contact sport” analogy: What it means and why it matters

II. The cost of doing business: Burnout, vicarious trauma, and chronic stress | 1:20pm – 1:35pm

• Common mental health risks and symptoms
• Real-life examples and case studies
• Recognizing the personal and professional consequences

III. Seeking safe places: Strategies for self-care and institutional change | 1:35pm – 1:50pm

• Evidence-based coping techniques and resilience practices
• The role of workplaces in promoting psychological safety
• Peer support, mentorship, and creating a wellness culture

IV. Interactive q&a and call to action | 1:50pm – 2:00pm

• Open discussion with attendees
• Resources and commitments for moving forward