Tim welcomes Dan Lukasik, former trial lawyer, law professor, and Judicial Wellness Coordinator for New York State, for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about mental health in the legal profession.

With over 30 years of experience as a trial lawyer and decades of advocacy in mental health, Dan brings a unique perspective shaped by both professional insight and lived experience. After being diagnosed with depression 25 years ago, he founded Lawyers With Depression, one of the first platforms dedicated to mental health in law.

Tim and Dan explore the unique pressures faced by lawyers and judges, including isolation, high-stakes decision-making, and the ethical constraints that can limit connection and support. They talk about generational shifts in how mental health is perceived, the importance of early education in law schools, and why many lawyers struggle in silence until a breaking point.

Dan also opens up about the profound personal loss of his brother to bipolar disorder, which led to the creation of the documentary My Brother Lost in Time, and a second documentary, Travels with George, which tells the story of an unlikely and transformative friendship. Through these relationships, Dan highlights the healing power of connection, purpose, and service, especially in combating the isolation that often accompanies depression.

This episode is a moving exploration of resilience, vulnerability, and the importance of building a more compassionate legal profession.

About Dan Lukasik

Dan Lukasik is a former trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience and currently serves as the Judicial Wellness Coordinator for the New York State Unified Court System, supporting approximately 1,600 judges.

He is the founder of Lawyers With Depression, a widely recognized platform dedicated to supporting mental health in the legal profession. Dan is also a law professor at the University at Buffalo, where he teaches a course on mental health and well-being in law.

A nationally recognized speaker and advocate, Dan has been at the forefront of the mental health movement in law for decades. His work includes producing two documentaries exploring his personal journey with mental health, connection, and healing.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• My Brother Lost in Time: A Bipolar Life (documentary)
• Travels with George (documentary)

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Dan Lukasik:

• Website: Buffalo Depression Project
• Website: Lawyers With Depression
• Instagram
• Linkedin

Tim welcomes Moira Cook, a former estate litigation lawyer turned registered psychotherapist, for an insightful conversation about mental health in the legal profession. After practicing law in Toronto for nearly a decade, Moira experienced a personal crisis that led to anxiety, burnout, and ultimately a major career shift. Today she works primarily with lawyers, helping them navigate stress, burnout, addiction, ADHD, and the unique pressures that come with legal practice.

Moira shares how the culture of law can create a constant underlying sense of fear. Fear of mistakes, fear of disappointing clients or supervisors, and fear of career failure. Many lawyers struggle with people-pleasing tendencies and the habit of intellectualizing emotions rather than processing them. These patterns, while often rewarded professionally, can take a toll on long-term well-being.

Tim and Moira discuss the practical tools that can help lawyers regain balance, including simple journaling, mindfulness practices, and building awareness around emotions instead of suppressing them. Moira also explains why therapy with someone who understands the legal profession can be particularly helpful for lawyers seeking support. The conversation also explores career identity, the “golden handcuffs” that keep many lawyers feeling stuck, and why defining your personal values early in your career can make a major difference.

About Moira Cook

Moira Cook is a registered psychotherapist and former estate litigation lawyer who practiced in Toronto for nearly ten years before transitioning into mental health care. Drawing on her background in law, Moira now works primarily with lawyers, law students, and legal professionals facing burnout, anxiety, ADHD, addiction, and other mental health challenges.

Her work focuses on helping legal professionals understand the psychological pressures of the profession while developing healthier boundaries, coping strategies, and self-awareness.

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Moira Cook:

• Website
• Instagram
• Linkedin
  
  

In this special episode of The Wellness Docket, host Tim Culbert is joined by his wife, Cheyanne Culbert, a nurse and the owner of Beacon Clinical Group, a nurse consulting and education company in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

Together, Tim and Cheyanne look back on the first stretch of the podcast and share the episodes and moments that hit them hardest, from candid conversations about trauma, grief, and identity, to the realities of burnout, the pressure-cooker pace of practice, and what happens when stress quietly turns into addiction.

Throughout the episode, Tim and Cheyanne reflect on themes that keep coming up across guests’ stories:

• The power of a pivot (big or small) when something isn’t working
• Why every lawyer needs a “release valve” (at work and outside of it)
• How the next generation is changing expectations around culture, boundaries, and sustainability
• The importance of making room for real humanity inside a system built on rigidity
• Why talking openly about mental health at work isn’t “extra”; it’s prevention

Tim also shares a major update: The Wellness Docket has received sponsorship funding through the Canadian Bar Association (New Brunswick Branch) and the Lawyers Assistance Program, helping keep the conversations going and the content accessible.

About Cheyanne Culbert

Cheyanne Culbert is a registered nurse and the owner of Beacon Clinical Group, a nurse consulting and education company based near Woodstock, New Brunswick. In addition to her clinical and leadership work, Cheyanne has supported The Wellness Docket host Tim Culbert throughout his legal career as they’ve grown both their family and Tim’s law practice.

Cheyanne brings a person-centred lens to workplace culture, team support, and sustainability in two high-pressure professions. Cheyanne’s work and insights reflect a deep belief that successful careers are built not just on performance, but on humanity, balance, and honest conversations about mental health and overall wellbeing.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Lawyers Assistance Program
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
• My First Million podcast by Shann Puri and Sam Parr
• Dylan Gibbs and Sam Parr Story

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Cheyanne Culbert:

• Website: Beacon Clinical Group
• Linkedin: Cheyanne
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Tim is joined by Erin Cowling, founder of Flex Legal Network, for an honest conversation about burnout, boundaries, and rethinking what success in the legal profession really looks like. Erin shares her journey from Bay Street litigation to a personal breaking point that forced her to confront anxiety and depression, and ultimately step away from traditional practice.

What followed wasn’t a planned career pivot, but a search for a healthier way to practice law. Erin explains how that search led her to freelance legal work and eventually to building Flex Legal, a platform that supports both lawyers seeking flexibility and firms navigating demanding workloads.

Together, Tim and Erin explore how emotional strain, constant conflict, and a lack of boundaries contribute to burnout in law, and why flexibility, self-awareness, and redefining success are essential to creating a more sustainable legal career.

About Erin Cowling

Erin Cowling is the founder of Flex Legal Network, a Canadian platform providing freelance legal support to law firms and in-house legal departments. After practicing law in large firms and boutique litigation settings, Erin left traditional practice following burnout and mental health challenges. She went on to pioneer freelance lawyering in Canada, helping redefine how legal work can be done.

Erin is also the author of The Modern Freelance Lawyer: A Guide to the Ethics, Evolution, and Future of Freelance Legal Work. Today, she focuses on running Flex Legal full-time and advocating for flexible, sustainable careers in law.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• The Modern Freelance Lawyer: A Guide to the Business, Ethics, and Evolution of Freelance Legal Work - Erin Cowling

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Erin Cowling:

• Website - Flex Legal Network
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Linkedin - Flex Legal Network
• Linkedin - Erin Cowling

In this episode, Tim sits down with Dylan Gibbs to explore the mental health challenges that shaped his path and led him to leave practice entirely and create Inn Laws, a national community for lawyers who want to practice with more intention and humanity. Dylan speaks candidly about anxiety, burnout and the pressure to perform in environments that reward perfectionism and silence struggle, including his own experiences with these issues.

Their conversation digs into how community can disrupt the isolation that so many lawyersfeel on a daily basis. Dylan explains why confidential, values-aligned groups allow lawyers to speak honestly about burnout, business challenges. and the realities of daily practice.

Tim and Dylan reflect on what needs to change in the profession, including opening up new ways for lawyers to talk candidly about mental health and rethinking expectations that keep them trapped in unsustainable models. They deep dive into exactly how meaningful community support can lead to happier and more successful legal careers.

About Dylan Gibbs

Dylan Gibbs began his legal career on some of the profession’s most prestigious paths, clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada, litigating at top national law firms, and prosecuting criminal matters. But behind the achievements, Dylan battled long-standing anxiety and the mounting pressures of a system that often rewards overwork and perfectionism. After experiencing burnout and watching colleagues struggle silently, he made the difficult decision to step away from traditional practice. In the process of building a successful "real-talk" newsletter for lawyers, he realized many of his readers were looking for the same things he felt were missing in a law career, so he turned his mission into making space for those conversations.

Today, Dylan is the founder of Inn Laws, a community for lawyers who want to rethink how they work, connect, and support one another. The community is built on values of authenticity, zero ego, and human-centred practice.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• My First Million - Sam Parr
• The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Dylan Gibbs:

• Website: Inn Laws
• LinkedIn: Inn Laws
• Linkedin: Dylan Gibbs
  
  

Tim Culbert has a candid and deep conversation with Matt Hiltz, a New Brunswick labour lawyer and advocate for mental health in the legal profession. Matt opens up about his personal journey of confronting childhood trauma and how that experience reshaped his outlook on life, leadership, and law. What began as a difficult reckoning turned into a path toward self-awareness, therapy, and a commitment to showing up authentically for his colleagues, his family and friends, and himself.

Tim and Matt explore how trauma can shape behaviour in the workplace, why empathy and psychological safety matter in leadership, and how the legal culture is slowly evolving as more lawyers begin to prioritize wellness over performance. Matt reflects on lessons learned from The Four Agreements and The Fifth Agreement, the importance of responding instead of reacting, and how the next generation of lawyers is redefining what it means to be successful in law, with balance, compassion, and authenticity at the forefront.

About Matt Hiltz

As a labour lawyer based in New Brunswick, Matt Hiltz advises and negotiates on behalf of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, serves as Vice Chair of the CBA Pension Plan, and is a 2017 alum of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. Matt speaks candidly about trauma, healing, and mental health, and how empathy-driven leadership can transform legal workplaces and outcomes.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Fifth Agreement – Don Miguel Ruiz
• CSA Standard Z1003: Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
• Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference
  
  

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Matt Hiltz:

• Website: New Brunswick Nurses Union
• Linkedin: Matt Hiltz
  
  

In this episode, Tim talks with Karen Dunn-Skinner and David Skinner, co-founders of Gimbal LLP, about how lawyers can build more balanced, profitable, and fulfilling practices. After two decades in law, they saw firsthand how burnout and inefficiency drain the profession — and created The Power Zone Playbook: The Lawyer’s Path to Peak Performance to help lawyers reclaim time and joy in their work.

Karen and David explain the “Power Zone” framework — focusing your energy on work you’re uniquely qualified to do, love to do, and that adds the most value. The key, they say, is delegation: empowering your team, leveraging outsourced and freelance support, and even delegating to technology through AI tools like Spellbook. When the right people do the right work, lawyers can spend more time thinking deeply, leading strategically, and living fully.

They also highlight the mental health crisis revealed by the national Sherbrooke study and the need for creativity and identity beyond law. Their message: lawyers thrive when they design their practices to support their lives, not the other way around.

About David Skinner & Karen Dunn-Skinner

Karen Dunn-Skinner and David Skinner are the team behind Gimbal Consulting, a Canadian consulting and coaching firm helping lawyers run healthier, more rewarding practices. After more than 20 years each in law, they traded billable hours for a mission: to show lawyers that success doesn’t have to come at the expense of well-being.

Through their coaching programs (Practice Accelerator and Reset) and their book The Power Zone Playbook: The Lawyer’s Path to Peak Performance, they guide legal professionals to build firms that are more profitable, less stressful, and deeply aligned with the lives they want to lead. Karen and David are recognized voices in the lawyer-wellness movement, known for their practical tools, candid insights, and unwavering belief that thriving lawyers make stronger communities.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• The Power Zone Playbook for Lawyers (book)
• Spellbook (AI for contract drafting/review)
• Flex Legal Network (Canada) – freelance lawyers, clerks & paralegals.
• Stafi (remote executive assistants & legal VAs for law firms).
• National Study on Wellness in the Canadian Legal Profession (Sherbrooke/CBA/FLSC)

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

Contact David Skinner & Karen Dunn-Skinner:

• Website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• LinkedIn: Karen
• LinkedIn: David
  
  

Host Tim Culbert welcomes guest Jason Ward, owner of Wards Lawyers PC and mental health advocate on his website Mentally Speaking, to the show for a candid conversation about stress, mental health, and addiction. Jason shares his journey through the legal profession until burnout and a descent into addiction at age forty-seven to cope with the stresses of the job. He is now a speaker devoted to destigmatizing mental health wellness for everyone, but especially for legal professionals. Jason’s story is powerful and redemptive and highlights the importance of mental health care and support.

Through the start of his law career at one of the largest litigation group firms in Canada, through to the successful firm he co-founded, Jason handled the stress of the job right up until he didn’t. At age forty-seven, never having been much of a drinker before, Jason turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with mental health issues related to burnout. He found himself non-functional and completely dependent on substances to continue his daily life. At the peak of his addiction, he made the decision to retire from litigation and sought rehab assistance. Now sober, Jason is candid about the stresses and demands of a legal career. In a competitive and driven industry, success can come at the cost of mental health, and that’s something Jason is passionate about changing.

About Jason Ward:

Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation, Jason Ward is co-owner of Wards Lawyers PC along with his wife, Karissa. Recently retired from litigation at age fifty, the full-service firm in Central East is one of the largest regionally.

Jason is very enthusiastic about mental health wellness in the legal community, as well as for anyone who needs to hear his message of recovery. After his story was spotlighted by national media organizations like MacLean’s and the American Bar Association in both Canada and the U.S., Jason spends much of his time publicly speaking to others about his journey. He is dedicated to raising awareness, de-stigmatizing, and making paramount mental health wellness for everyone, particularly for legal professionals. Jason can be reached through his website at mentallyspeaking.ca.

—

Contact Tim Culbert:

• LinkedIn
• Purvis Culbert Law LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  
  

Contact Jason Ward:

• Website: WardLegal.ca
• Website: MentallySpeaking.ca
• Facebook