We Asked for Stress Stories; Here's What You Said
These responses—especially the most personal one, from a very brave lawyer—show how no one who feels stress is alone in this battle.
August 17, 2018 at 05:23 PM
3 minute read
If you know 10 lawyers, think about them sitting around a conference room table. If a recent study is accurate, three are depressed, and two suffer from anxiety or problem drinking. We tend to think about these issues during extreme events, like when a lawyer commits suicide, but they exist every day under less dramatic circumstances. Perhaps it's a lawyer in your office who's distracted, sad or unusually short-tempered. Perhaps there is no outward sign of a struggle. Last month we asked readers to share what stresses they encounter in the practice of law and how they deal with them. Among the responses was a raw account by a lawyer going through a particularly rough period and a host of ideas on ways to cope or otherwise deal with stress. They include counseling, healthy cellphone discipline, meditation, prayer and hobbies, such as a lawyer who loves disc golf. These tactics won't wipe stress away from the practice of law. This is, after all, a profession that resolves disputes that in other cultures or eras would likely lead to violence. But the responses—especially the most personal one from a very brave lawyer—show how no one who feels stress is alone in this battle. The data from the 2016 ABA/Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation study, if extrapolated to the 37,000 active members of the state bar, mean about 10,000 Georgia lawyers are depressed and about 7,400 have alcohol or anxiety problems. Just as significantly, we learned that help exists. As one respondent explained, Georgia bar members are entitled to six prepaid counseling sessions, per issue per year, through the Lawyer Assistance Program. All services are accessible through a confidential hotline, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 1-800-327-9631. The bar reports that the Lawyer Assistance Program has helped 493 members in the past two-and-a-half years. And the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states that getting help can be effective: "Most people diagnosed with a mental health condition can experience relief from their symptoms and live a satisfying life by actively participating in an individualized treatment plan." The website of NAMI's Georgia chapter includes a page with many resource contacts, including the Georgia Crisis & Access Line, "a free 24/7 helpline providing mental health crisis assistance and access to mental health resources throughout the state of Georgia": 1-800-715-4225. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, also staffed 24/7, is: 1-800- 273-TALK (8255). You can read the responses by clicking on the titles in the slide show above.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllOn the Move: Hunton Andrews Kurth Practice Leader Named Charlotte Managing Partner
6 minute readHusch Blackwell, Foley Among Law Firms Opening Southeast Offices This Year
9 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250