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Paula Davis J.D., M.A.P.P.

About

Paula Davis, JD, MAPP, is a former practicing lawyer, speaker, consultant, media contributor, and a stress and resilience expert who has designed and taught resilience workshops to thousands of professionals around the world.

Paula left her law practice after seven years and earned a master’s degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. As part of her post-graduate training, Paula was selected to be part of the University of Pennsylvania faculty teaching and training resilience skills to soldiers as part of the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program. The Penn team trained resilience skills to more than 40,000 soldiers and their family members.

Her articles on stress, burnout prevention, resilience, and thriving at work are prominently featured on her blogs in The Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company and Psychology Today. She is the author of several e-books, with her latest called From Army Strong to Lawyer Strong: What the Legal Profession Can Learn from The Army’s Experience Cultivating a Culture of Resilience.

She is a contributing author to several books, including, Character Strengths Matter: How to Live a Full Life (2015), a chapter about resilience in The Best Lawyer You Can Be(2018), and a chapter about her burnout prevention and resilience work with the Medical College of Wisconsin in the forthcoming Appreciative and Relationship Practices in Healthcare. Her recent book is Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being & Resilience.

Her expertise has been featured in and on The New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, Men’s Health, The Washington Post, Time.com, Today.com, The Steve Harvey TV show, Huffington Post Live and a variety of media outlets. She has also been featured in and on the Lawyerist, Law360.com, various ABA webinars and publications, and the Women’s Law Journal. Paula was recently named a Trusted Advisor to the Professional Development Consortium (PDC).

She is the Founder and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute, a training and consulting firm that partners with law firms and organizations to help them reduce burnout and build resilience at the team, leader, and organizational level. You can reach Paula at paula@pauladavislaack.com.

Recent Posts
How to Manage Microstress

There are seven categories of people who can help you effectively manage microstress.

There are seven categories of people who can help you effectively manage microstress.

Lawyer Strong
The Legal Profession’s Journey Toward Well-Being

Nearly 3,000 lawyers answered questions related to well-being and the relation to law firms’ culture and policies.

Nearly 3,000 lawyers answered questions related to well-being and the relation to law firms’ culture and policies.

The Upside of Stress

A "stress helps" mindset increases your energy, raises your heart rate, and boosts your adrenaline—but it differs from the fight-or-flight response.

A "stress helps" mindset increases your energy, raises your heart rate, and boosts your adrenaline—but it differs from the fight-or-flight response.

Stress, Loneliness, Overcommitment, and Lawyer Suicide Risk

High levels of perceived stress, work overcommitment, and loneliness are all significantly associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation among lawyers.

High levels of perceived stress, work overcommitment, and loneliness are all significantly associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation among lawyers.

Engaged and Exhausted: A Burnout Profile Leaders Must Watch

Engaged-exhausted workers showed the highest rate of turnover intention in the study, even higher than the most burned-out participants.

Engaged-exhausted workers showed the highest rate of turnover intention in the study, even higher than the most burned-out participants.

Creating Belonging on Hybrid Legal Teams

Belonging is the need to feel connected to others, to feel like you are part of groups that are important and significant to you, and to create strong relationships.

Belonging is the need to feel connected to others, to feel like you are part of groups that are important and significant to you, and to create strong relationships.