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.

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Contact Tim Culbert:

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Contact Jason Ward:

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

Host Tim Culbert welcomes guest Erin Durant, founder of Durant Barristers, to the show to talk about her book “It Burned Me All Down” and the mental health crisis it describes. Erin completely burned out in January 2021 and faced a long road back through anxiety and depression. She wrote the book partly to work through her own feelings about her mental health and partly to be public about an experience not a lot of people in her profession feel they can be open about. Tim and Erin explore the realities of burnout and what recovering from it looks like.

Founding Durant Barristers gave Erin control over how she worked and who she worked with, factors that were important in maintaining her mental health after her burnout. Her book highlights parts of her experience that contain valuable advice for anyone facing a similar situation. Erin and her team work to set good examples for each other in terms of mental health, watching out for each other, noting when breaks are needed, and staying aware. As she tells Tim, if someone feels as though they can’t get a level of comfort or support in their work, it may not be helpful for their mental health to stay going forward. There is an unspoken crisis of burnout, stress, anxiety, and mental unwellness that Erin hopes to shed light on with her book and openness.

About Erin Durant:

Erin (she/her) founded Durant Barristers after practicing law as a partner at one of the largest law firms in Canada and at a litigation-focused boutique. Erin's dispute resolution experience includes a wide variety of personal injury/insurance matters, defending professionals in negligence claims and disciplinary complaints, sports disputes, real estate and title insurance disputes, commercial litigation and investigations/reviews of all sorts. She also regularly conducts confidential independent investigations and reviews in times of crisis for various organizations.

Erin has experience conducting trials, particularly jury trials, and appeals. She accepts retainers from other lawyers to assist with trials as co-counsel. She has represented clients in court and before tribunals including the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Canada, applications for leave to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Sport Dispute Resolution Tribunal of Canada, and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Erin regularly provides barrister services to other lawyers to assist with trials, appeals and other complex situations.

Erin is the recipient of various awards from legal associations including the Ontario Bar Association’s David W. Scott Pro Bono Award, the County of Carleton Law Association’s Regional Senior Justice Award, the Advocate’s Society’s Writer’s Award and Canadian Defence Lawyer’s Outstanding Young Litigator Award. Erin has also been recognized in various industry publications including Best Lawyers in Canada, Lexpert and Canadian Lawyers’ “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers”. She can be reached at Edurant@DurantBarristers.com.

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Contact Tim Culbert:

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Contact Erin Durant:

• Website: DurantBarristers.com
• Book: “It Burned Me All Down” by Erin Durant

Host Tim Culbert welcomes guest Lindsey Mazza to the podcast to talk about leadership, advocacy, and the need for community. Lindsey, an Ontario-based lawyer who is now a disability and inclusive leadership expert, was born with Holt-Oram Syndrome and, after losing her father, has dedicated herself to self-advocacy, public speaking, and raising awareness about the need for workplace inclusion. She speaks from a place of understanding and experience, having lived through trying to hide her disability and now embracing it openly, and seeing how people respond to both sides of that choice.

Calling the legal profession formulaic and curated, Lindsey left her career as a lawyer when she realized it didn’t lend itself to a human experience and was crushing her emotional and mental health. It was as recently as 2024 when she made the choice to take care of herself before anything, and was able to pivot into advocacy to honor her father’s legacy. Lindsey is very open about the steps needed to find purpose in life, her desire to have truly honest conversations, the need for disability inclusivity, and why providing equitable opportunities for all people is the key to a healthy life and society. Tim and Lindsey discuss her views on the shortcomings of the legal profession and what’s needed to move things into a more supportive place.

About Lindsey Mazza:

Lindsey Mazza is a lawyer turned inclusive leadership expert and TEDx speaker who helps leaders shift from surface-level inclusion to real impact. As a founding partner of a multi-city law firm with over a decade of experience, she defied expectations in an industry where accessibility is often overlooked. Born with Holt-Oram Syndrome, she spent years pushing past limitations, both real and imposed, before embracing her disability as a strength. After the loss of her father, a Superior Court Judge and advocate for equality, Lindsey shifted her focus to empowering others through resilient leadership, self-advocacy, and workplace inclusion. In 2025, she was named one of Niagara’s 40 Under 40 and launched her own segment, Hiding in Plain Sight, on YourTV Niagara’s The Source. She’s been featured on The Social, SiriusXM, CTV Your Morning, Global Toronto, CBC Radio Metro Morning, The Los Angeles Tribune, The Hamilton Network, YourTV Niagara, Canadian Small Business Magazine, Authority Magazine, and Canadian Lawyer Magazine

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Contact Tim Culbert:

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Contact Lindsey Mazza:

• Website: LindseyMazza.com
• LinkedIn: TheLindseyMazza
• YouTube: @thelindseymazza
  
  

Host Tim Culbert welcomes viewers to the inaugural episode of The Wellness Docket podcast. His guest is Maneesha Gupta, the Founder of Council Pro and Mindful Lawyer Canada, and the recipient of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Dean’s Gold Key Award as “one to watch” for exceptional leadership and dedication to promoting mental health and equity. Maneesha shares how her career journey into law unfolded and what led her to founding Mindful Lawyer Canada. It is Maneesha’s vision to be open about the realities of anxiety, depression, and the need for wellness among lawyers, and that vision drives her work in mental health and connecting legal peers through Mindful Lawyer.

In addressing the sometimes archaic parts of the legal system, Maneesha says that COVID-19 brought inequality, injustices, and mental health crises in the profession to light, and though it was difficult, it was also a blessing in terms of opening up discussions on evolving needs. She has experienced a very positive response to Mindful Lawyer and the fourteen different workshops it offers. Maneesha and Tim discuss meditation sessions she runs, opening seminars with a workshop, how organizations are realizing the need to step up in supporting their employees, and how the mindfulness practices she teaches are intended for long-term daily use to counteract symptoms of burnout. Conversations around mental health in the legal sphere are necessary and more prominent than ever, and Maneesha expresses her hope that anyone who needs emotional support will now have an avenue through which to find it.

About Maneesha Gupta:

Esha practices in all aspects of corporate/commercial, intellectual property, advertising and technology law. Her practice focuses on brand protection and enforcement. She has worked at two global law firms on Bay Street and a top four Canadian bank. Esha is detail-oriented and keenly seasoned in advising on all aspects of patents, trademarks and copyrights when protecting the brands and reputations of Canadian businesses and global tech companies. In addition to branding, she counsels clients on IP licensing, cyber-security, privacy, data protection and risk management for AI adoption.

She is the recipient of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Dean’s Gold Key Award as the “One-to-Watch” for exceptional leadership, professionalism and compassion not only in her career, but in her dedication to promoting mental health and equity and opportunity for racialized lawyers and law students, women, youth and people with disabilities.

Aside from practicing law, she is also a speaker and has given lectures at universities and colleges across Ontario, and presented in panel events at the Law Society of Ontario and Toronto Region Board of Trade. Esha judges various national advocacy competitions and lectures at her alma mater, Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Ted Rogers School of Management. She regularly writes and presents on cases involving privacy and cyber risks associated with AI adoption.

Esha is the owner of Mindful Lawyer Canada. The group was founded to tackle psychological distress, anxiety and depression across all areas of the legal fraternity.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Lawyers With Depression
• “The Right Not to Remain Silent: The Truth About Mental Health in The Legal Profession” by Beth Beattie, Carole Dagher, Thomas Telfer
• Center for Addiction and Mental Health

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Contact Tim Culbert:

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Contact Maneesha Gupta:

• Website: ManeeshaGupta.com
• Mindful Lawyer: ManeeshaGupta.com/ResourcesForMindfulness
• LinkedIn: Maneesha-Guptajd
• LinkedIn: Company/Mindful-Lawyer-Canada
  
  

Welcome to The Wellness Docket. Purvis Culbert Law lawyer and mental health advocate Tim Culbert hosts this podcast where lawyers can step away from their desks and daily stress to focus on well-being. The Wellness Docket explores why legal professionals do the work they do and what keeps them grounded and connected in their profession. Through interviews and conversations with lawyers, judges, therapists, and change-makers, Tim explores the challenges, choices, and possibilities for building healthier and more human ways to practice law. People matter. And thriving in law shouldn’t require the sacrificing of self. Join Tim and The Wellness Docket on Spotify, Apple, or your favorite podcast platform today.

About Tim Culbert:

Tim Culbert is a lawyer, musician, and mental health advocate based in Woodstock, NB. At Purvis Culbert Law, he serves clients in the areas of family, real estate, estate planning, corporate & commercial law. Tim’s practice is client centred. Tim especially enjoys helping people from all walks of life solve their legal problems and achieve their goals.

Tim has written various articles about the intersection of the law and mental health since law school, including “Mental Health Law Reform for a New Government in New Brunswick” (2011) 62 University of New Brunswick Law Journal and “Lawyers’ Mental Health: It’s Time to ‘Walk the Walk’, (Winter-2024) Vol.-38-, Solicitor’s Journal, 1.

On a personal note, Tim lives in Woodstock, NB, with his wife, two children and two dogs. He spends his spare time with his family and friends, working hard to be a good dad and husband, playing music (guitar) and travelling.

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Contact Tim Culbert:

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