Unleashing Calm: The Therapeutic Power of Animals (5/28/25)

Unleashing Calm: The Therapeutic Power of Animals in High-Pressure Legal Environments

This is an in-person program hosted at The Chicago Bar Association building (321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604).

Join the CBA’s Animal Law and Well-being and Mindfulness Committees for a unique program focused on therapy animals and how they can reduce stress and improve well-being. This program will educate lawyers about the legal frameworks surrounding therapy animals, their therapeutic potential, and how they can be used to reduce stress, particularly in high-pressure environments like legal workplaces. Attendees will learn:

• What therapy animals are, the types of animals used as therapy animals and about the certification process for therapy animals.
• The science behind stress and how animals can help.
• The laws and legal frameworks that govern the use of therapy animals in different settings, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
• How the use of therapy animals can be implemented in legal settings, including a discussion of the ethical and practical considerations to ensure the animals well-being and maintain a conducive work environment. 

Attendees are encouraged to stay after the presentation to interact with therapy animals from the SOUL Harbour Ranch, Chicagoland's most experienced comprehensive non-profit (501(c)3) animal therapy program. Therapy dogs and miniature horses will visit The Chicago Bar Association to interact with attendees at this unique event.

Speakers:
Jodie Diegel, RN, MBA, LNCC, Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Kaveny + Kroll & Founder/President, Soul Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program 
Elizabeth Kaveny, Managing Partner, Kaveny + Kroll, Co-Chair CBA Trial Practice Committee
Tracy McGonigle, McKenna Law, Co-Chair, CBA Animal Law Committee
Karen Munoz, Partner, Dolan Law, P.C., Founder & Wellness Advocate, Roaring Grace Mindful Wellness, Co-Chair, CBA Well-being and Mindfulness Committee  

About SOUL Harbour Ranch

SOUL Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program is proud to be Barrington and Chicago surrounding area's most experienced & comprehensive all-volunteer Animal Therapy Program (IRS nonprofit 501(c)3. SOUL Harbour Ranch offers visits with Therapy Miniature Horses, Therapy Dogs, Miniature Donkeys, Big Horses, Therapy Cats, Miniature Pigs, and our newest herd member, a Therapy Rabbit! Our Animal Therapy Program's Mission is to enrich lives by promoting the unconditional love and healing of the human animal bond while advocating for animal therapy standards of excellence. Smiles, joy, love, laughter & healing happen when our specially trained therapy animals visit hospitals, nursing homes, schools, veterans, & more. Our registered Pet Partners therapy animal teams offer therapy animals in hospitals including Animal-Assisted Crisis Response teams, trained to provide emotional comfort & support to those affected by crisis.

To confirm you are ready to participate in an on demand webcast, please take the browser test here: http://eventcenter.commpartner...

Live CBA Committee meetings and seminars will take place via Zoom webinar.  You will click on "view video" and be directly connected to the meeting/seminar on Zoom.  (You will not receive a Zoom link.)

You MUST have Zoom Desktop Client on your Mac or PC to view a live program. If using a mobile device, you must have the Zoom App (available in the App Store or Google Play).

System requirements for Mac & PC can be found here. System requirements for mobile devices can be here.  

Please note that audience members do not need video or audio access.  Audience members are able to submit questions via the chat or Q & A features of Zoom. 

Chat: Open in-meeting chat, allowing you to send chat messages to and send a message to the host, panelists, and attendees (if permitted). Question & Answer: Open the Q&A window, allowing you to ask questions to the host and panelists. They can either reply back to you via text in the Q&A window or answer your question live.