The VBA launched its trial “Collective Care” group for solo and small office attorneys on Oct. 20. The first one-hour meeting was a success. The plan is to meet once each quarter. The next meeting will be for 90 minutes on January 12 (12:30 to 2 PM). The meetings are remote, via Zoom. They are led by Cassie Gillespie, LICSW. (See registration details in the last paragraph below).
Cassie, a popular presenter at VBA meetings, is a licensed clinical social worker and academic (University of Vermont Social Work Department). She is dedicated to helping professionals who are experiencing chronic workplace stress and workplace trauma. She provides training, coaching, and consultation to professionals of all types, including mental health and medical providers, conservation staff, social workers, educators, librarians, government professionals and, importantly, legal professionals.
Most attorneys have not been trained in trauma responsive lawyering and have not been supported to engage in care practices for their well-being. Solo practitioners and attorneys working in small firms, experience an increased risk for occupational trauma and workplace distress since they practice without the support of a team. This group will address that gap by providing a space for connection and collective care, not self-care!
Collective Care Group Details:
Who: The program is being provided as a VBA member benefit (at no additional charge) and is thus open only to VBA members. Our cohort, this year at least, will be those who work in solo or small firms or small government offices. (e.g., state’s attorneys in small offices). What do we mean by small? If you would define your practice as “small” that will qualify you to participate.
Group size will be limited to the first 25 people to register for each session. If you didn’t make it to the Oct. 20 session, you are still invited to participate.
When:
The VBA Small Firm & Solo Practitioner Collective Care Group will meet next on Jan. 12, 2026 from 12:30 to 2 PM. Future dates and times for meetings are TBD, pending discussion with the group. Once the group has met at least four times, we will assess the project. Continue? Change? Expand? We will be looking for participants to provide feedback.
What:
Cassie will facilitate, and guide discussion focused on coping with trauma or other personally distressing material that emerges in lawyer work with the goal of limiting the ways and degree to which that material intrudes into attorney’s lives outside the office. The group will discuss how to handle difficult clients, for example, clients who are demanding, angry, or non-compliant. The group may also discuss such topics as expressing emotion in the workplace or dealing with difficult opposing counsel or work-family balance. This could include what it’s like to work with angry, demanding or withholding clients, or setting boundaries with clients, and how clients’ trauma material impacts the attorneys. Please note: the groups are not therapy groups and will not provide legal advice or case supervision. They are not for CLE credit. The attorney ethics rules regarding safeguarding client confidentiality will be observed. Rather, they are opportunities for clarifying the above problems and having the benefit of mutual validation, support, and problem-solving worker-to-worker.
More About Cassie:
Cassie has more than 15 years of experience serving children, youth, families, and helping professionals. She began her social work career as a child welfare worker for the State of Vermont’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) Family Services Division, gaining experience in a variety of settings including work in schools, housing, crisis response, and residential sites. After spending many years in direct service roles, she pivoted to supporting social workers in addressing the impact their work has on them. As noted, she now provides training, coaching, and consultation to individuals and organizations in many sectors.
She has run groups like this with attorneys, paralegals, legal support staff, teachers, municipal staff, civil servants, librarians, health care staff (RNs, Doctors and site administrators) and of course with mental health practitioners and social workers! The response has been unanimously positive. Participants in the Oct. 20 inaugural meeting were enthusiastic and asking for more.
As noted, Cassie is also a full-time faculty member in the University of Vermont’s Social Work Department, and the host of The Social Work Lens podcast. She lives with her family in Underhill, Vermont.
You might want to listen to her podcast on moral injury with immigration attorney Anna Rodgers on a recent episode of The Social Work Lens here: https://vermontcwtp.org/podcast/
Registration Information:
Interested? Please send your contact information to VBA programs coordinator Laura Welcome at [email protected] to receive a Zoom link to the Jan. 12 meeting.
