Photo Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

The issue of attorneys' mental health will be a key issue confronting lawyers from around the country when they gather in Chicago for the American Bar Association's annual conference this summer.

The ABA is “furiously working” on a draft policy for legal employees and law firms grappling with impairment issues that the ABA could adopt at its annual meeting, said Terry Harrell, chair of an ABA presidential working group to advance well-being in the legal profession.

The draft proposal will provide lawyers and firms of all kinds with a framework for attorneys to report if they are—or think a colleague may be—impaired due to issues such as stress, depression, or declining cognitive ability.