The most fascinating session I attended at ILTACON this year didn’t focus on new software or project management techniques. It focused on something more fundamental: resiliency. The session, Neuroscience of Resilient Teams: Strengthening Collaboration and Performance, brought together industry leaders Natalie Alesi (iManage), Melissa Speidel (K&L Gates), and Adam Wehler (Smith Anderson) to explore resilience through a neuroscience lens. Resilience isn’t just about being tough or resistant to harm. It’s the capacity to prepare for, recover from, and adapt in the face of stress and adversity — traits managers want to foster in themselves and their teams.
Why are law firms such stressful environments? The industry suffers from a unique set of factors that drive tension: rapidly transforming technology, unstable regulatory environments, and remote workforces. These elements are stressful under ideal conditions. While stress can drive performance, it's not sustainable. It quickly moves team members from excited engagement to emotional exhaustion.
The neuroscientific explanation of resiliency begins with understanding the interconnectivity between our physical bodies, brains, and nervous systems. Stress and stressful experiences impact more than your thoughts. They affect your heartbeat, your breathing, and even your ability to think and perform. Session speakers emphasized the concept of coherence, the state where the heart and brain work in sync. When we achieve coherence, our decision-making improves, our emotions stabilize, and we are better equipped to collaborate under pressure.
For legal technology professionals, these strategies are more than theory. Teams already face constant change, from new software rollouts to evolving client demands, and resilience practices offer a way to keep performance steady. A culture of empathy, small rituals like red/yellow/green check-ins, and simple tools such as the Heart Lock-in can make a measurable difference in how a team handles deadlines, setbacks, and innovation. In an industry defined by pressure, resilience becomes not just a nice-to-have skill but a competitive advantage.
Building resiliency helps keep the response to stress more consistent and can, over time, regulate waves of high and low production. The goal isn’t just protecting mental health, but building mental fitness, the strength and flexibility to handle stress without burning out.
Developing mental fitness begins with making changes at the base physiological level to build a solid foundation. One technique the speakers highlighted was the Heart Lock-in, a mindfulness practice that helps cut through emotional noise, sustain positive emotions, and radiate calm to others. Practiced regularly, it helps rewire the brain’s neuropathways for improved resiliency and holistic coherence.
Managers can also apply resilience-building practices with their teams:
- Teach colleagues the Heart Lock-in technique.
- Create a safe environment for collaboration and support.
- Use regular red/yellow/green check-ins to understand not just project status, but team well-being.
Taken together, these practices provide a roadmap for strengthening both individual and team resilience — an essential skill set in today’s evolving legal landscape.
The lesson from this ILTACON session was clear: technology alone cannot make a team successful. Resilient teams are built when leaders pay attention not only to technical skills, but also to the mental fitness of the people behind the work. By combining neuroscience-backed practices with a culture of empathy and awareness, managers can strengthen collaboration and sustain performance — even in the most demanding environments. In today’s legal landscape, resilience may be one of the most valuable skills a team can develop.