Anne Brafford

Dr. Anne Brafford, JD, PhD, a former Big Law partner-turned behavioral scientist, is a thought leader on healthy high performance for lawyers, emphasizing a systems-led approach to mental health, engagement, inclusion, and performance excellence. Anne is a co-founder of the Institute for Well-Being in Law and the Chair and creator of Well-Being Week in Law. She previously helped create and Chaired the American Bar Association (ABA) Law Practice Division’s Attorney Well-Being Committee for multiple terms. She also served as Editor in Chief of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being’s landmark 2017 report, The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change. She is the author of the ABA’s influential guide, The Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Legal Employers. Her ABA-published book, Positive Professionals, provides science-based guidance for increasing engagement in law firms. In addition to her J.D., Anne has earned a PhD in positive organizational psychology from Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and a Master's of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania. Her doctoral dissertation was titled The Identity Harmony Model of Inclusion: Development and Test of a New Theory. Her Masters’ theses were Building the Positive Law Firm (MAPP) and Retaining and Engaging Women Lawyers (CGU).For five years, Anne was a Teaching Assistant in the MAPP program for Dr. Martin Seligman (Fall 2014 - 2019) and, for two years, served in the same role at CGU for Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Fall 2015, 2015)--the two co-founders of positive psychology. Until April 2014, Anne was an equity partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group (LEPG) of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, one of the world's largest law firms. Her practice focused on employment litigation on behalf of corporations at the trial an appellate levels. She was the Irvine LEPG practice group leader, was the Irvine office hiring partner and acting managing partner, and held numerous other positions over the years.