About Us
The LegalMind Society is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which was founded in September of 2021 by Juan Bacigalupi with the vision of offering peer support and mental health education to those in the legal community. Juan is a lawyer living with mental illness who believes there needs to be an organization that offers peer support to other lawyers living with mental illness.
Lawyers are seen as everything from snake oil salesmen to superheroes and saviors. They are upholders of the law or manipulators of it. Yet first and foremost, lawyers are people, and just like everyone else, they can battle the demons of mental illness.
Too often, lawyers, judges, and law students struggle with mental health or addiction issues in silence because the profession carries such a strong stigma. Lawyers think they can’t talk to anyone for fear of professional repercussions. The LegalMind Society seeks to combat that stigma using the power of peer support. In other words, lawyers created the stigma surrounding mental illness within the profession, and lawyers can work together to support each other and undo that stigma.
The LegalMind Society recognizes the crucial role that lawyers and judges play in our society and seeks to ensure that the profession is able to take care of itself while serving society.
The LegalMind Society’s mission is to promote mental health and well-being among legal professionals through outreach and peer support.
The LegalMind Society envisions a world where an attorney’s well-being is prioritized and the stigma of mental illness is not a barrier to practicing law.