Take the Lead: Workplace Issues Affecting You Now
One attorney who suffers from addiction affects many lives exponentially. Addiction is not just one person or one attorney, it affects the entire law firm community in one way or another.
January 28, 2020 at 12:18 PM
6 minute read
It is the 100th anniversary of prohibition (Jan. 17, 1920), and the end of Dry January, a month where resolution keepers strive to abstain from alcohol for the first month of the year. Given the season, this month's column is devoted to the not-so-secret secret of lawyers and problematic drinking and substance abuse. I have experienced the issues surrounding addiction in my professional career both as a practitioner advising clients and as a law firm partner and leader. One attorney who suffers from addiction affects many lives exponentially. Addiction is not just one person or one attorney, it affects the entire law firm community in one way or another. It is an issue that must be addressed head on by leadership if we are to protect and assist our employees, our firm and our clients. As I stated in my last column, law firms consist of human capital. Human capital brings with it all of the issues humans face, including mental illness, addiction and substance abuse.
The ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, in collaboration with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, sought to update our understanding of substance abuse and mental health in the legal profession in 2016 (Journal of Addiction Medicine, February 2016). The study paints a story of a profession rife with substance abuse, anxiety and depression. Researchers found that 20.6% of respondents engaged in hazardous drinking, with higher rates experienced by attorneys in private practice and less-experienced attorneys. Attorney illicit substance use of intermediate concern or higher represents 24% of the attorneys surveyed.
Mental health closely links to substance abuse, and also disproportionately affects the legal community (28% have experienced depression, 19% anxiety, 23% stress and suicidal ideation affects 11.5% of the population, according to the study). Due to the space limitations of the column, I am going to focus on substance abuse because mental health and how to support mental health deserves its own column, stay tuned.
There was a big splash when the ABA/Hazelden Betty Ford study came out, but the results need to be repeated over and over again. Think about those statistics. Are we as leaders in the legal profession doing enough about it?
The answer is support, education and destigmatization. Advising employees that there is an EAP program available in the employee benefits package isn't enough. Calling it a "problem" doesn't help. Ignoring it won't make it go away. Since a significant portion of our legal population is suffering, including within your own firm (one out of five offices is occupied by an attorney who engages in hazardous drinking) it is time to act in real, meaningful ways.
The study reveals that to start, lets focus on younger associates. Of those drinking hazardously, 43.7% reported their problematic use started within the first 15 years of their legal career. Young attorneys under 30 years old have a pronounced 35% risk of hazardous drinking.
Education can be an important preventative measure. Many might meet the threshold of problematic drinking without realizing it—allowing hazardous behavior to metastasize into a more significant problem by the time detection occurs. I recommend that your firm offer education modules in your training resources to help associates—particularly juniors—identify the early stages of hazardous drinking and make it part of your training curriculum. Training associates to spot substance abuse in others can also aid in prevention by giving associates the knowledge and skills to reach out to their peers when concerned. Also, create an open dialogue about the pressures of the profession and the results of the ABA study in order that associates understand the risks of alcohol and substance abuse within the profession. There are many resources through the Pennsylvania Bar Association Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, the ABA, and websites of organizations such as the Hazelden Betty Ford Clinic. Spend some time during orientation discussing it, bring in a professional to present the information and to offer assistance. At the very least, leadership can make efforts to ensure the information about addiction and substance abuse is presented and local resources are known to associates.
Culture can also play a role in the success of a young attorney. Although confrontation and competition cannot be excised from the practice of law, organizational culture can provide young associates with the structure to avoid hazardous behavior. A climate that fosters collaboration and support in the practice of law could also offer collaboration and support in in wellness. As the ABA notes, by the time attorneys seek the help of anonymous peer support groups the problem has usually escalated to a serious level. Creating and fostering internal support can help attorneys recognize and manage the issue sooner and prevent escalation.
A culture that allows attorneys to ask for help without stigma can prevent the worsening of an ongoing issue. What does this look like? Leaders who have gone through such issues opening up about their stories and letting the attorneys know that others have gone through it, it is not something to be ashamed of, and stressing that there is support within the firm structure. Identify peers within the firm who an attorney can confide in and ask for help. A designated peer can be educated and armed with information and resources available to assist if they are asked for help.
Wellness programs within the firm such as meditation, either guided or individual, are not just for new age hippies. Studies have shown that meditation only 10 minutes a day can significantly lower stress, and therefore lower the need for coping mechanisms such as turning to alcohol or other substances. That's only .2 billable hours. In 2020, the Clark Hill Philadelphia office will be offering meditation courses to our employees to give them the foundation for a meditation practice. It is another tool to promote and support well-being within the office.
This profession burdens many of its practitioners with competition, expectations and long hours. With the youngest attorneys at the greatest risk of substance abuse, those in leadership roles have the ability to act. We all have the obligation to address the issue within our community given that such a large part of our community is suffering. Reach out to a colleague to check in, remind your peers of the resources available inside and outside the organization, work to destigmatize the burdens faced by other attorneys, and revisit firm policies. These small actions might not change the abysmal statistics faced by attorneys overnight, but they can lead to the type of culture that allows attorneys to understand and manage substance abuse. Enjoy the rest of Dry January.
Lauri Kavulich, member-in-charge of Clark Hill's Philadelphia office, reports on the most prevalent issues affecting in-house counsel today. She focuses her practice on employment law and represents both public and private employers, including railroads.
|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 AllDon’t Settle for the Minimum: Finding Constitutional Claims Closer to Home
7 minute readSeven Rules of the Road for Managing Referrals To/From Other Attorneys, Part 1
7 minute readMatt's Corner: RPC 8.4(d)—Conduct Prejudicial to the Administration of Justice
2 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
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