Lawyer Depression Comes Out of the Closet

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Posted Dec 13, 2007, 07:13 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Lawyers suffer greater rates of depression and alcohol abuse than the general population, but fear of going public caused many to battle their problems in isolation.

That’s beginning to change, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The ABA and other bar groups are questioning the emphasis on billable hours (PDF) that drives lawyers to exhaustion, while some law schools are helping students and alumni evaluate whether they have chosen the right field. Individual lawyers are also stepping up to discuss their depression on websites or as visiting lecturers.

The practice of law, with constant conflict and billing pressures, can take a toll. Another problem is the lawyer mindset, says psychologist Martin Seligman: Pessimists excel at law, but they are at risk for depression.

About 19 percent of lawyers experience depression at any given time, compared with 6.7 percent of the general population. About 20 percent of lawyers have drinking problems, twice the rate of the general population.

For some, the problem is a bad career choice, the Wall Street Journal says. Two-thirds of Oregon lawyers surveyed said they had no exposure to the day-to-day life of a lawyer before law school, and 30 percent of that group said they would have picked a different profession if they could go do it over.

Law schools helping with career choices include the University of Iowa, which sends an associate dean to talk to alums about whether they have chosen the right career. Oklahoma City University is addressing the subject of depression with lectures by trial lawyer James Webb, who explains that his drive to succeed also made him vulnerable to depression.

Another lawyer coming forward to discuss depression is Dan Lukasik, who created a Web site to support others with the disease. Lawyer assistance programs are also available to lawyers who need help.

“You can be a productive, vital attorney who does meaningful, good work and have clinical depression, but there are steps you’re going to have to take to treat your depression,” Lukasik told the Buffalo Law Journal.

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Posted by Kevin OKeefe - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 5 minutes ago

Thanks for the story Debra. Anything you can do to highlight the fact that lawyers can seek help for depression without fear they are going to loose their practice as a result is huge for lawyers suffering from depression. It’s a crippling illness that only exacerbates a lawyers fear that if the seek help everything they’ve worked for will be lost.
Posted by H.V.Baxendale - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 1 minute ago

The “bad career choice” is an issue that needs further examination--because it is so true. Law is the easiest route to a “profession”; almost anyone can get into a law school and pass a bar exam somewhere. This is certainly not true of medicine, and I submit of engineering, accounting, or architecture as well. Those whose background involves neither law as a career, nor the life of professionals, assume the law degree is the instant ticket to high salary and prestige. Statistics show a scant minority of law grads get the six-figure start, and the gap is immense. I observed these uninformed assumptions 25 years ago when I was in school, perhaps because I am a third generation lawyer and “knew the deal.” My father worked hard, was highly regarded, and didn’t make piles of money even as a senior partner. He did say to me (and I warned my colleagues): “You have to love it; it’s not a job you can just put up with for 40 years.”
Posted by CJT - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes ago

I don’t think it’s necessarily being a lawyer that’s the problem, but the pressure that certain jobs (ie: those big 6 figure jobs) place on attorneys to bill an obscene abount of hours. Although I think the tide is changing. People in their 20’s who are coming out of law school right now are of the mindset that they won’t work 120 hour weeks for 45 years or until they have their first heart attack. It isn’t healthy and isn’t worth it. I think we’ll see a mass exodus from the bigger firms that opperate like this as more of the old guard retire and younger lawyers take the reigns. Thoughts?
Posted by Abbey =) - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 16 hours, 55 minutes ago

As someone who “lost” her law firm job 10 months after being diagnosed as clinically depressed, I still think there’s an enormous bias against depression and the treatment for it. However, I have learned from numerous medical professionals that attorneys do have a very high rate of digestive problems and depression, but much of that must still go ‘un’ or ‘under-reported.’
Posted by CJT - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 15 hours, 22 minutes ago

That’s truly a shame as in addition to the unfairness and unreasonable ness of it; it says to anyone working there that if you have a problem you better “shut up” and bill more hours.
Posted by Abbey=) - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 15 hours ago

Yeah, that was kind of the policy. I probably should have picked up on it after one assistant who was clearly depressed “left.” However, it’s not like depression is a protected disability, and I’m certainly not saying that it should be. There just isn’t much you can do about it, and unfortunately, most other firms and companies don’t want to hire someone with that background. It’s just a sad (’depressing’) truth.
Posted by J.D. - 6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes ago

ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, now that the ABA has been successful in reducing crack sentences, you should be able to find it more easily when you need that quick fix. Especially if the ABA’s successful in putting 20,000 convicted crackheads back out on the street. Unbelievable.
Posted by AGB - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 23 hours, 5 minutes ago

This last comment regarding drug abusers was
totally out of context and ill conceived. Our so called “ war on drugs” has been a nightmare for the last 25 years. It hasn’t lessened illegal trafficing or use of most controlled substances and has not helped drug users find the treatment necessary to stop using these substances.
Posted by MB - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 22 hours, 44 minutes ago

I want to respectfully disagree with Abbey in that there IS something you can do about depression. Depression is one of the most treatable illnesses that there is, if a patient is willing to be patient and try several different treatments until she finds one that works. As for firms not wanting to hire someone with that background—unfortunately, maybe that’s true. I hope that changes, though, because once treated, a previously depressed person can become completely healthy and able to perform as well as, or better than, ever before.
Posted by Nancy - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 22 hours, 18 minutes ago

One factor overlooked in the article and in the comments is the “state of the legal profession” itself. True, some students choose law school for the wrong reasons. Also true, law schools generally do not provide sufficient courses that are representative of law practice—day to day law practice. However, a huge factor in lawyer depression, in my opinion, is the pressure to bill for every minute your breathe, view every human being you meet or encounter on the street as a potential client, reject those with legal problems if they cannot afford $365 per hour no matter the seriousness and merit of their legal problem, and do not worry to much about ethics. Stick the proverbial “legal finger” in the air and check the “public wind”. Just as people are not born bigots, the public was not born hating lawyers—we earned that disdain.
Posted by LizzardLaw - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 58 minutes ago

The silent depression is not limited to 6-figure attorneys - even public service attorneys are suseptible. The pressure is not the billable hour; rather, those who are not “in a job for life” (ie, exempt) must always work to be one step ahead of the political winds. Of course, many attorneys coming up in the ranks are also subject to “bully bosses” and other subtle or not-so-subtle events that bash internal confidence. It is a shame that those in need or those feeling the need do not have more “free” time to seek counselling and that the environment does not punish one for having a history of seeking help.
Posted by MB - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 47 minutes ago

Yes, it is really, really unfortunate that the environment can be so hostile. I guess the root of the problem is ignorance. There simply needs to be more education about depression—as the treatable medical condition that it is. If people understand that it can be cured, I think that might change some viewpoints. But that requires us being more open about depression: being wiling to acknowledge it in ourselves, helping others to identify it in themselves, and committing as a profession to educating one another about it. We need to eliminate the stigma associated with seeking help and acknowledging it as a problem.
Posted by Ch - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 17 minutes ago

On a pessimistic note, it is a little to late for law schools to counsel students and alums. Once you’re in the door, you’ve already committed much money and time and will have a hard time changing.

How about instead of the admissions essay “Why do you want to be a lawyer?”, law schools ask “Why do you want to be a lawyer despite modest pay, a bad job market, and grueling work that might depress you?”

-From a content attorney
Posted by ubobnorma1@aol.com, ubobfletch@aol.com, bernal13@g - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 16 minutes ago

This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Posted by PM - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 19 hours, 32 minutes ago

My opinion is that the burden for educating potential lawyers and law students should fall on the pre-law advisors at colleges. These advisors need to find some kind of technique that will alert students to problems like this in the legal profession and give them some exposure to the actual pressures of working at a law firm. I think firms could also get involved and allow college students to do some job-shadowing.

It is too late for many after they go to law school, they will try to push through, take on large debt, and find themselves in the ‘golden handcuffs.’

But I’m not saying law schools shouldn’t do anything. I wish my law school was more aware of this problem and reached out more to students like me who are struggling with this.
I was going to accept a law firm job over a government job, which I know I would enjoy more, because of debt and family pressures. I didn’t get the law firm offer and in retrospect, I see I would have made a huge mistake had I been offered the job.

Still, there are many like me who enjoy the practice of law, but are pushed into depression, or whose depression is aggravated, by the pressures of class ranking in law school, billable hours, long hours, lack of family/leisure time, etc. I think employers can start doing something about it and I think it is in the interest of their bottom lines to do so. Here’s an insightful article on this issue:

http://www.accountantsworld.com/desktopdefault.aspx?page=newsstory&category=newsstory&StoryId=t1203347.9mg

I know a lot of the push for mental health benefits is driven by drug companies, but when a profession has a 19% depression rate, it’s time to look past that.
Posted by MG - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 19 hours, 20 minutes ago

Isn’t it quite the “compliment” that so many people tell me I am the only happy attorney they know? I am actually in a small, specialized field where most of us enjoy what we do. Maybe it is because we don’t have the billable hour pressures or middle of the night emergencies; we are allowed to have lives, in addition to our livlihoods.
Posted by Phyllis Weiss Haserot - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 18 hours, 45 minutes ago

Re: Sue Shellenbarger’s column on Dec. 13th in the WSJ:

As a long-time consultant and coach to many law firms, now focusing on transitioning planning for Baby Boomer senior partners and the younger partners who will eventually step into their shoes (www.nextgeneration-nextdestination.com ), I can tell you we hear about depression on the other end as well. For example, doctors tell us that successful lawyers who have stopped practicing or had to leave their firms because of mandatory retirement age policies or related pressures on older lawyers often suffer depression. This is frequently attributed to the loss of professional identity, especially if they have made their practice the dominant component of their life. (This deterioration of mental – and sometimes physical – health has been reported in the Traditionalist generation, not just the achievement-oriented Baby Boomers.)

It is interesting that the pressures of both practicing and not practicing can have a serious impact, and it is important for lawyers - and other professionals who have similar pressures – not to be in denial and to try to prevent the consequences. Firms and other organizations, for the sake of productivity as well as compassion, need to devote more attention to creating supportive environments.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot
www.pdcounsel.com
Posted by ABB - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 18 hours, 44 minutes ago

If you’re not depressed you’re not paying attention.
Posted by Bentley J. Tolk - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 51 minutes ago

As I reported in Overcoming The 6-Minute Life, lawyers are generally twice as prone as the general population to have challenges either with depression of substance abuse. Articles such as this help raise awareness of the problem.

Bentley Tolk
www.bentleytolk.com
Posted by colette - 6 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 11 minutes ago

Most of the comments are missing the point. Law does not MAKE someone depressed. Depression can be a clinical, physical disorder. And programs like LAP do NOT help, as I know for a fact in my experience with a friend of mine, all he wanted to do was practice, and LAP just wanted to keep him from doing so.

Depression is real, a real “disease” - and until the law world stops being afraid of it, we will get nowhere.

By the way, I was sent packing from a firm because my significant other suffered from depression. This is stone-age, but it’s true. Sad, but true.
Posted by gsc - 6 months, 3 weeks, 23 hours, 52 minutes ago

Interesting no one has mentioned what has happened to our profession and the law. As a small town practitioner representing mostly plaintiffs, we have seen the tools that were available to us to help our clients stripped away. Change of laws and attitudes have manage to hinder our ability to help. People think we are crooks and our clients are misfits trying to get something for nothing.

Mass marketing and solicitation has become the rule. Graduates incur so much debt they can’t afford to practice in a small town, or with small firm because they are not paid enough. We hear of the Justice department engaging of activities that are unbelievable. Depressing isn’t it!
Posted by Vialo Weis, Jr. - 6 months, 2 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 55 minutes ago

At the recent Oklahoma Bar Association annual meeting my wife (also a lawyer) and I attended the Lawyers Helping Lawyers session where they discussed what they are doing about depression. A lawyer from Texas was present who had battled depression and told us what the Texas Bar is doing about depression.

Hopefully, there will be more helpful available in the very near future.
Posted by Stevie - 6 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 17 hours, 18 minutes ago

As a relatively new attorney in a big law firm, I have been quite depressed on occasion. Although it’s hard to put a finger on one “cause” or triggering factor, I think it boils down to the fact that this is probably the most boring job I’ve ever had. Even when I’m “busy,” I really just have a higher volume of boring work. When I’m not busy, there’s always the pressure to somehow squeeze out or dredge up more boring work to do. For me, boredom breeds more discontent than anything else.
Posted by Larry Rizman - 6 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours, 48 minutes ago

1.

Folks, depression has been around since time immemorial, with each time period giving it a different name. Depression is the manifestation of a mental and\or emotional reaction triggered by “unsettling” past or present life events. There is much good research being done into the brain’s chemistry and its affect on behavior. Get serious: check out Darkness Visible by Styron, Noonday Demon by Solomon, SSRIs, and research by Joe LeDoux, et al out of NYU and others. Today it’s more accepted to deal with alcohol and narcotics as an “explanation” for “aberrant” behaviors; there’s a physicality (a bottle or a pill) that one may put a hand on and a name to as an explanation. Yes, the Bench and Bar are paying more attention to “mental” problems, but we have a way to go. Take care.

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