From day one, attorneys are trained to identify, exploit and eliminate vulnerabilities. We look for vulnerabilities in our opponents' arguments, in our own positions and in the work of our colleagues and subordinates. For example, if you spot a weak case in your brief before you submit it to the court, you remove the case from the brief and replace it with a stronger case. If you find a typo in your memo before you submit it to the partner, you delete the typo from the memo. If you notice a weak argument in your opponent's motion, you exploit that weakness in your reply. It is fair to say that spotting and exploiting or eliminating perceived weaknesses is embedded in the DNA of our profession.

One of the more unfortunate consequences of this training, however, is that attorneys become so proficient at spotting and eliminating vulnerability that the practice carries over into areas of their personal and professional lives, where it weakens rather than strengthens their position, potentially placing them, their firms and their clients at risk. It should come as no surprise then that when some attorneys begin noticing the symptoms of a mental health illness—a sudden increased level of anxiety, trouble getting out of bed every morning, difficulty with drugs or alcohol—they often try to hide the problem before it becomes known to and exploitable by anyone else.

In reality, anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions cannot simply be deleted like a typo or overcome by sheer force of grit and resiliency. Attorneys, like all other human beings, need both self-awareness and proper support to overcome these problems. A critical first step to ensuring that attorneys access the support they need is to change the internal perception that the act of seeking appropriate help exposes them to negative consequences and shift external practices and cultural norms within the legal profession that reinforce this perception.

Untreated mental illness can cause a great deal of personal pain and suffering. That alone is sufficient reason for attorneys suffering from mental illness to seek support and for the law firms who employ them to encourage them to seek that support. However, these truths have not changed the deeply entrenched perception that seeking treatment for mental illness exposes a weakness that can and will be exploited. It is critical for the legal profession to come to terms with the fact that attorneys suffer from mental illness and need help and support in overcoming its effects. Ignoring or masking the symptoms of mental illness causes unnecessary pain and suffering, but also risks much greater liabilities that could be passed on from the individual lawyer to the firm they work for and eventually to that firm's clients.

For example, untreated mental illness has long been known to lead to decreased productivity, the cost of which is likely to be passed on to firms and to clients. Liabilities associated with untreated mental illness reach far beyond decreases in productivity, however. Those suffering from mental illness often struggle to build and maintain personal relationships, which can be costly in a profession where the flow of business is directly tied to the ability of partners and associates to foster dynamic social networks through which business can flow into their firms. Additionally, mental illness places a person at an increased risk of victimization and being taken advantage of, which, as discussed above, poses a serious problem in a profession full of people trained to spot and exploit vulnerability. Long term untreated mental illness is also linked to increased risk for various physical health issues ranging from obesity to cardiovascular issues and even cancer, any one of which could result in the loss of a talented lawyer to medical leave or worse.

Avoiding the tangible and intangible costs associated with common consequences of mental illness requires a shift in perception about support for and treatment of mental illness. The legal community as a whole must take active steps to combat the idea that seeking help is a sign of weakness. We need to solidify agreement that getting the help needed only strengthens the individual attorney, as well as the firms and clients they serve. Firm leaders can help destigmatize mental health illness and mental health treatment by implementing the following steps:

• Acknowledging the problem and speaking openly and honestly about the aspects of the legal profession that may contribute to mental illness;

• Having senior law firm leadership publicly share within the firm their own vulnerabilities, especially in the area of mental health;

• Modeling a commitment to well-being and providing forums for firm leaders and attorneys to share ways in which they strive toward and maintain mental health well-being;

• Providing access to education and information that helps raise awareness of symptoms and emphasizes the importance of maintaining good mental health;

• Offering resources for attorneys in need of mental health treatment; and

• Working to create collegial and respectful work environments, where attorneys are less likely to feel at risk of personal or professional attack for seeking help.

However, these steps are only a starting point. The truly important shift must take place within the mind of each individual attorney who is in need of support, but afraid to seek it for fear of exposure to negative consequences. Perhaps the mindshift needed is for attorneys to begin seeing mental health support in the same way they see other types of support—as a way of strengthening their professional position. There is a reason that litigators are always on the look out for cases that support their arguments. After all, no matter how strong, clever or well-articulated the argument, it is still likely to fail without supporting case law behind it. And attorneys—even the brightest and most resilient among us—are no different when it comes to the support needed to maintain good mental health.

Sarah C. Levine is a litigation associate at Winston & Strawn in Los Angeles. She focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation and has experience representing clients in patent defense, consumer class actions and administrative law matters under the APA.