Wellness for In-House Lawyers: Building Success Through Self-Care

The legal profession isn’t just intellectually demanding—it’s emotionally and physically taxing too. Long hours, tight deadlines, and unrelenting pressure can wear down even the most capable professionals. For in-house counsel, the weight of business and legal responsibilities often leaves little time for personal well-being. But prioritizing wellness for in-house lawyers isn’t just a luxury—it’s a necessary foundation for sustainable success.

That’s the perspective of Ashlee Best, a seasoned legal operations leader and wellness coach. With experience at both Fortune 500 companies and early-stage startups, Ashlee understands the intense demands of in-house legal work—and the cost of neglecting your health. Her personal wellness journey, combined with her work helping others in the legal profession reconnect with their own well-being, offers a practical and inspiring guide for lawyers seeking balance and resilience. Her focus is particularly beneficial for wellness among lawyers working in-house.

Watch the full conversation with Ashlee Best here:

Ashlee’s journey began when chronic pain became a daily reality—her body’s response to years of putting work above everything else. Instead of masking symptoms, she took a deeper approach, exploring the root causes and reconnecting with her mind and body. Her healing path revolved around five pillars of wellness: mind, body, beliefs, connections, and environment.

This intentional shift helped her understand the deeper role that beliefs, habits, and surroundings play in our professional performance. It also clarified what success could look like when it includes, rather than excludes, personal well-being, making wellness for in-house lawyers an integral part of professional success.

Ashlee’s transformation inspired her to launch a wellness coaching practice tailored to the legal community. She emphasizes the difference between coaching and mentoring. While mentoring draws from past experiences, coaching is a forward-looking, collaborative process that empowers individuals to find their own clarity and solutions.

This is especially valuable for legal professionals, who often operate in high-pressure, performance-driven environments. Coaching offers a space to pause, reflect, and grow—a counterbalance to the constant urgency of legal work.

A cornerstone of Ashlee’s coaching approach is awareness training. It involves paying attention to your inner dialogue—what you believe about yourself, your capabilities, and your worth. Negative self-talk is rampant in high-achieving professions like law, and Ashlee encourages clients to replace it with intentional, affirming self-reflection.

Whether through journaling, guided breathing, or mindful pauses, she helps legal professionals build the tools to interrupt destructive thought patterns. This self-awareness doesn’t just improve wellness for lawyers functioning in-house—it enhances focus, confidence, and emotional resilience.

Ashlee has also integrated wellness into her legal operations leadership. By incorporating brief wellness moments—like breathwork or sound baths—into Legal Ops chapter meetings, she has brought mindfulness into professional spaces. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, showing that even small changes can make a big impact in shifting legal culture.

These practices offer a model for how wellness for in-house lawyers can be woven into the fabric of legal teams—not as a side initiative, but as an essential part of high performance and collaboration.

Ashlee Best’s journey is a compelling reminder that true success isn’t about sacrificing your well-being for your career. It’s about designing a life and legal practice that supports both. By embracing self-care, building self-awareness, and rethinking the cultural norms that define legal achievement, lawyers can thrive—not just survive.

Wellness for in-house lawyers isn’t just an individual choice. It’s a strategic shift. And it starts with one decision: to value your well-being as much as you value your work.

Watch the full conversation here:  Notes to My (Legal) Self: Season 5, Episode 20 (ft.Ashlee Best)

At Notes to My (Legal) Self®, we’re dedicated to helping in-house legal professionals develop the skills, insights, and strategies needed to thrive in today’s evolving legal landscape. From leadership development to legal operations optimization and emerging technology, we provide the tools to help you stay ahead.

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