Depression continues to plague our profession, with the latest discouraging news that a University of Buffalo law student took his life last month by jumping from the building housing the firm where he was a summer intern. This young man had struggled with mental health issues for the five years prior to his death, starting after he suffered a concussion playing college football. He had been able to manage law school, but the stress of wanting to succeed in his summer job and worries about passing the bar exam finally put this young man over the edge. Literally.

The managing partner also felt that it was up to the attorney to “raise his hand” and ask for help. One source at the firm said that the firm had a wellness program in place, described as a combination of generous insurance coverage for mental health care, serving fresh fruit and encouraging fitness. Unfortunately what the firm lacked was a culture where employees felt comfortable coming forward to seek assistance.

What the wellness program at Sidley Austin fails to recognize is that many people who suffer from depression will not “raise their hand” for a number of reasons. It’s easy to raise your hand for help if you consider yourself deserving of help. But people suffering from depression often feel isolated and hopeless, that nothing they or anyone else can do will make a difference. And in a high-pressure occupation such as law, it is likely that a depressed lawyer would feel that their career could be at risk if they show any weakness. Attorney Gabe MacConaill had confided to his wife just prior to his death that he felt that he was failing but feared that if he showed weakness his career would be over.

So how can we approach the problem differently?

1. Create a firm culture of where staff feel open to be able to discuss weakness and failure. This requires those in leadership positions to do this, not just those in the HR department. This can be a particular challenge for those educated in the tradition of “lawyer as gladiator,” but we need to start tolerating vulnerability.
2. Educate the staff of the entire firm, from partners to administrative support people, on depression and other forms of mental illness—how to identify it in themselves and others, and what to do about it.
3. Be proactive—don’t wait to see a hand waving, beckoning for help. Be mindful of changes in an employee’s or colleague’s behavior such as inattention to detail, unfinished projects, difficulty concentrating and withdrawing from social contact, all of which are signs that depression could be setting in. Keep notes of specific behavior that is concerning so that you can address the issue from a fact-based position. Those of us who are solos or who practice in small firms should keep an eye out for our colleagues; solo and small-firm practitioners are more likely to find themselves in the disciplinary system as the result of conduct attributable to psychological problems due to lack of support in the workplace.
4. Be particularly watchful during periods of change that results in a loss of something meaningful to the employee, either on a personal level, such as a death or divorce, or on a professional level, if a trusted friend or colleague has left, or if the employee has been assigned a new position. In the case of MacConaill two colleagues with whom he had been close left the firm, and he was moved into a supervisory role with insufficient support, only compounding his stress.
5. Address the performance issues with the employee, but focus on job performance; do not impugn or denigrate the character of the employee. A depressed person already feels worthless, and shaming comments will only make it worse.
6. You don’t have to solve the problem. You’re not a therapist. As lawyers we are used to thinking we should have all the answers, and that if we don’t, we can become fearful of approaching a problem at all. Don’t let the fact that you don’t know exactly what to say keep you from saying anything. If in addressing job performance issues, the employee identifies a mental health problem, making a referral to an employee assistance program or other resource is what you need to do.

Let’s face it, being a lawyer is no walk in the park. Mental illness can be treated, and there are many famous people who can attest that life goes on—Bruce Springsteen, Abraham Lincoln, Halle Berry and J.K. Rowling, just to name a few. It behooves us as a profession to be proactive in doing what we can to help those who toil with us in the trenches. As we care for our brothers and sisters at the bar, we improve the profession for us all.

Patricia King worked for the chief disciplinary counsel ‘s office in the state of Connecticut.