A Laugh a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: Humor’s Role in Our Well-Being as Lawyers

Join us to find out how humor can help us in a serious profession from Dr. Shawn Healy, Nadine Ezzie, Esq., and Daniel Faneuf, Esq. with our this installment of Webinars for Busy Lawyers
The goal of this program is to share some laughs while discussing:
- the role of humor in our overall well-being,
- the science behind why humor improves our health,
- tips for how to use humor to improve relationships, and
- how changes in humor can be helpful warning signs of underlying issues that need to be addressed.
We’ll hear from attorneys about their experiences maintaining some lightheartedness - and even using it strategically - in a serious profession.
ABOUT THE EXPERTS
Dr. Shawn Healy joined LCL in March of 2014 following his work in a private group practice in Cambridge. Prior to private practice, Shawn worked at May Institute, Inc. for 10 years, as the Clinical Director and finally the Director of Clinical Services and Operations for the Behavioral Health Division of May Institute. Shawn is licensed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a psychologist. Shawn coauthored a 2017 ABA book, The Full Weight of the Law: How Legal Professionals Can Recognize and Rebound from Depression, with fellow LCL MA Staff Clinician Jeff Fortgang. Shawn serves on the Massachusetts SJC Standing Advisory Committee on Professionalism, as well as on the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee (2020-2022).
Nadine Ezzie, Esq. is a legal transformation consultant and attorney with almost 20 years of unique legal and related experience working at the intersection of the law, innovation, and technology. In 2015, Nadine was recruited by a large-scale commercial real estate developer in Cleveland, Ohio, to serve as its next General Counsel. Nadine was recruited to help scale the company’s legal department in preparation for the execution of a long-term strategy to quadruple the company’s operating portfolio. Nadine redesigned and scaled the company’s internal legal function so that it could support this rapid growth, resulting in six-figure legal cost savings within the first two years. These results made it apparent to Nadine that lawyers needed betters tools, fast. She then pivoted to the legal tech world, serving as an early employee and VP of Customer Success at a commercial leasing software created and led by real estate attorneys in Boston. Using her innate ability to empathize and connect with legal users in all roles, Nadine worked closely with each real estate customer to create and then implement a customized roadmap to their legal transformation. This began with customers’ onboarding LeasePilot and extended through post go-live, including workflow redesign, training, KPI tracking, and consideration of change management initiatives. The results were in-house legal departments saving time on repetitive processes, allowing their members to spend time on more strategic matters. Today, Nadine has founded ezzie + co. to combine her experiences in order to provide a unique, end-to-end professional service experience to the commercial real estate world-unlocking efficiencies and preparing departments to not only survive, but thrive, in the post-pandemic world. A first-generation daughter of Lebanese immigrants, and a native Clevelander, Nadine currently calls Boston home with her rescue dog, Leo. When not helping her clients, you can find her hiking, canoeing the Charles, exploring the local food scene, and brushing up on her standup comedy skills. She is licensed In Ohio & Massachusetts.
Daniel Faneuf, Esq. is the principal Attorney at the Faneuf Law Group, LLC, a civil litigation firm representing plaintiffs in sexual assault and serious injury cases. Prior to attending law school, Attorney Faneuf was a member of the Main Stage cast at New England’s largest comedy club, Improv Asylum. Attorney Faneuf is also an Advisory Board member of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Alliance, a human services organization helping children and young adults with mental health challenges throughout the state of Massachusetts. He serves as the President of the First New Hampshire Cavalry Veterans Organization. Attorney Faneuf is a member of the Massachusetts Bar, the Massachusetts Federal District Court Bar and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.