Gratitude: A small note that strengthens us all

Bethany Allen is a compliance lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright, where she focuses on conflicts, professional responsibility, and ethical risk within large law firm environments. She is also an adjunct professor at Avila University, teaching peace studies and mediation. Allen serves on The Missouri Bar’s Standing Committee on Well-Being in the Profession and was a member of The Missouri Bar Leadership Academy 2024-2025 class.

A quick, specific “thank you” can do more than brighten someone’s day. It can strengthen Missouri lawyers’ sense of purpose and motivate them to continue practicing at their best. 

The legal profession is a helping profession with demanding and emotionally complex situations. Over time, these situations can lead to high levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and burnout, making it difficult for lawyers to practice law and serve clients.1 When lawyers are supported, connected, and mentally healthy, they can even better serve their clients and communities. 

Well-being is not extra. It is foundational to the quality of our legal work. 

One way to increase lawyer well-being is to focus on gratitude. When we practice gratitude, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters that are responsible for our emotions.² Regularly practicing gratitude can have lasting effects and improve psychological conditions like stress, anxiety, and depression by turning your thoughts toward good things.³ 

Additionally, research in organizational psychology consistently shows that expressions of specific appreciation increase workplace engagement, strengthen team cohesion, and reduce stress.4 Studies have also linked gratitude practices to improved resilience⁵ and lower symptoms of burnout.⁶ The American Bar Association’s 2024 well-being report continues to highlight connection and supportive professional culture as key protective factors against chronic stress and isolation.⁷ 

Done well, gratitude is not vague praise, but rather specific recognition that reinforces what is working, who we can rely on, and why our work matters. This combination of purpose and connection is powerful in demanding environments like those in the legal profession. 

That is why The Missouri Bar Standing Committee on Well-Being in the Profession is excited to offer tear-out gratitude grams that lawyers can use to express their appreciation to their colleagues, judges, opposing counsel, and clients. 

This downloadable gratitude gram serves as an invitation to build momentum for Well-Being Week in Law, May 4-8, before the week officially arrives. Well-Being Week in Law is a national initiative from the Institute for Well-Being in Law that seeks to raise awareness about lawyer well-being and encourage action across the legal profession year-round. 

Tear out this gratitude gram and write a note that is concrete and specific to someone you appreciate. Thank a mentor who made time for you, a colleague who went above and beyond, a staff member who kept tasks or a project moving forward, or even opposing counsel who helped keep a matter professional. Then, pass the gratitude gram along — hand it over, mail it, or leave it where that individual will find it. 

Small acknowledgments build professional culture. Culture shapes experience. Experience shapes well-being. 

A simple note may feel small, but it contributes to something larger. Gratitude strengthens connection, reinforces purpose, and reminds us that none of us practice alone. 

Together, those small motions matter.

Endnotes 
1 Bloomberg Law Attorney Workload and Hours Survey, BLOOMBERG LAW (2024).
2 Roland Zahn, et al, The Neural Basis of Human Social Values: Evidence from Functional MRI, 19 CEREB CORTEX 276 (2008).
3 Id. 
4 Vartika Kashyap, Top 7 ways to show gratitude in the workplace, MEDIUM, (June 12, 2025).
5 Does Gratitude Rewire Your Brain?, AMERICAN BRAIN FOUNDATION (Nov. 26, 2025).
6 Salena Tully, et al, Gratitude Practice to Decrease Stress and Burnout in Acute-Care Health Professionals, 28 THE ONLINE J. OF ISSUES IN NURSING 3, (Sept. 24, 2023).
7 Monique White, Attorney Well-Being: A Pressing Concern for the Legal Profession, AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION (Nov. 20, 2024).