The Real Reasons for Big Law's Mental Health Problem
Law firms are following the unfortunate path that has become a dominant approach in the medical profession: treating symptoms rather than the disease.
June 02, 2017 at 02:06 PM
10 minute read
In May, The Wall Street Journal ran an article about the legal profession's enduring problem: psychological distress. For decades, attorneys have led most occupations in the incidence of serious psychological afflictions—depression, substance abuse, even suicide. Now some law firms are “tackling a taboo,” namely, the mental health problems of their lawyers.
Some observers theorize that a special “lawyer personality” is the culprit. In other words, we have only ourselves to blame, so no one should feel sorry for us. Then again, no one ever feels sorry for lawyers anyway. But attorney psychological distress has become a sufficient problem that, as WSJ reports, some big law firms are now “offering on-site psychologists, training staff to spot problems, and incorporating mental health support alongside other wellness initiatives.”
Stated differently, law firms are following the unfortunate path that has become a dominant approach in the medical profession: treating symptoms rather than the disease. Perhaps that's because law firm leaders know that curing it would cut into their personal annual incomes.
The Facts
Other workers have serious psychological challenges, too. But attorneys seem to suffer in disproportionately high numbers. The WSJ article cites a 2016 study of U.S. lawyers finding that 20.6 percent of those surveyed were heavy drinkers (compared to 15.4 percent for members of the American College of Surgeons). Likewise, 28 percent experienced symptoms of depression (compared with 8 percent or less for the general population). According to a 2012 CDC study cited in the WSJ, attorneys have the 11th-highest suicide rate.
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