In a presentation at the Action Group on Access To Justice’s Access to Justice Week, University of Toronto sociology professor Ronit Dinovitzer and PhD candidate Jonathan Koltai discussed their recent work and the imperative for the legal community to meet challenges it faces in mental health. Read about their findings here.
High Pressure Law Jobs Linked to Depression
Building A Case For Mental Health: Law Students Allege Student Health Center Mishandled Depression Screening Data
The intense, cut-throat competition of law school can be mentally exhausting and induce severe spouts of stress and anxiety. However, this should in no way inhibit law students from being able to seek. the type of mental health support they need during what is an academically rigorous and pressure filled time in their lives. This article discusses some of the challenges associated with mental well being confronted by students and counseling centers on campuses across the country. Read the article here.
What Resilient Lawyers Do Differently
Paula Davis-Laack, a contributor who writes about stress-resilience, burnout and well being at work discusses how the ability for lawyers to adapt to a changing workplace environment is essential for resilience. Part of the challenge of doing so involves greater flexibility in how lawyers approach problems, receiving criticism constructively and developing positive working relationships with your colleagues. Read the article here.
Depression Dominates Legal Industry, Starting at Law School
The Dave Nee Foundation reports that an average amount of students enter law school with depression, around 8-9 percent, but upon graduation, around 40 percent of law students will have depression. The leading cause of disability in the world and in the U.S. is depression. Some call depression an “epidemic,” which could very likely be accurate in the legal world. Read the full article here.
Five Ways for Law Firms to Support Health and Wellness
This article, written by Jamie Spannhake for Attorneyatwork.com, details five ways firms can help their people reduce stress and anxiety, improve cognition, and access tools to survive, even thrive, in a difficult working environment. Read the article here.
Lawyers Battle Addiction and Depression, too. Now They’re Starting to Talk About It.
After the suicides of two very talented and seemingly happy lawyers in South Florida, the Cuban American Bar Association invited Dallas based lawyer David Cuban (the younger brother of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban) to talk about his personal struggles with suicidal depression and addiction. This Miami Herald article looks through the prism of Cubans personal struggle to examine some of the major problems affecting the legal profession. Read the full article here.
Lawyer Wellness Should Be a Priority, Report Says
The Minnesota Lawyer reports, “In its entirety, the report provides an overview of a 2016 ABA study of 13,000 lawyers that showed between 21 and 36 percent of them qualify as problem drinkers and that approximately 28 percent, 19 percent, and 23 percent are struggling with some level of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively.” Read the entire article here.
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Some Law Schools Take The Lead in Students’ Well-Being, Report Finds
The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being said in a report released earlier this week that law schools must change their cultures so that everyone—professors, administrators, and students—takes responsibility for student well-being. The report, issued by a coalition of groups including the American Bar Association and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, stems from a groundbreaking study published last year showing that more than 40 percent of students felt they needed mental-health help and a quarter were at risk for problem drinking. Read the rest of the story here.
‘Better Call Saul’ Highlights Stress and Mental Illness in the Legal Profession
The ABA Journal reports: “Chuck McGill’s suicide in Better Call Saul reflects what is happening within the legal profession throughout the United States. But anxiety and depression are not confined to practicing lawyers. A study of law school students at Yale University found that 70 percent admitted to suffering from some form of mental health issues. Eighty percent of those respondents considered help, but only half of them actually sought it out. Read the article.
Am I Depressed Because I’m a Lawyer?
Patrick Krill, a lawyer turned mental health counselor and consultant to law firms about lawyer mental health issues tries to answer the question: “A predicate to all of this, however, is the need to determine if you are actually depressed. Maybe you just hate your job, end of story. Moving on to a different practice or firm could be the change you need. Or, maybe you have an underlying medical condition that is masquerading as or causing a depressed feeling.” Read the rest of his blog here.
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