The Road to Attorney Well-Being

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The Road to Attorney Well-Being: Past, Present, and Future

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Filippa Anzalone uncovers legal profession that faces ongoing well-being challenges. Recent studies reveal mental health concerns and the need for change.

Image courtesy of interviewee. December 5, 2023

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This video video discusses the significant mental health challenges faced by legal professionals, particularly highlighted in a study published in the American Society of Addiction Medicine journal in 2016, often referred to as the Hazelden Report. This video video report revealed that 36% of lawyers identified as problem drinkers, with high rates of depression (28%), anxiety (19%), and debilitating stress (23%). The report emphasized the importance of addressing these issues, especially since it was the first extensive study of lawyers since 1990.

The speaker notes that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these problems by increasing isolation and blurring work-life boundaries, leading to increased stress and work demands. To address these challenges, the American Bar Association established a task force that produced a National Task Force report on attorney wellbeing in 2017, which called for improved support and education for legal professionals.

The speaker also shares personal experiences in developing a course on mindfulness for lawyers to help them cultivate self-awareness, self-compassion, and better coping strategies to avoid dysfunctional responses to stress. The narrative includes references to books that highlight the struggles of lawyers with addiction and mental health, illustrating the stigma that prevents them from seeking help. The importance of mindfulness as a tool for well-being and the need for structural changes within the legal profession to support lawyers are emphasized throughout the discussion.

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Well, I think it all started with an article

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that was written in the, American Society of,

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addiction Medicine, that was actually written in the,

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journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

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And it's called The Prevalence of Substance Abuse, of

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Substance Use and other mental Health Concerns

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among American Attorneys.

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And it was written by Patrick Krill,

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Ryan Johnson and Linda Albert.

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And this was done in 2016.

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And very often it's, described as the Hazelden Report,

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and it found that 36%

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of lawyers are problem drinkers.

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And this study, this article, was based on a study

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where there were 12,825,

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respondents.

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So the survey studied a broad swath of lawyers

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from I think 19 or 20 states, all licensed attorneys

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and in age groups from entering their careers to

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twilight of their careers.

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28% suffered depression.

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So 36% problem drinkers, 26% depression.

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19% of these practicing licensed attorneys suffered anxiety.

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And 23%

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of these licensed practicing attorneys suffered from stress.

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And this is not just everyday stress,

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but that stress that can be debilitating.

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And so this study was predicated everything

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that happens is predicated on something that came

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before this study was done,

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because there really hadn't been a broad study

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of the profession since 1990

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when there was a study in Washington state

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that looked at 1200 attorneys.

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So this is more than 10 times the amount.

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And actually about a little over 14,000 attorneys were

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surveyed for the Hazelden report.

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But after, you know, taking some out or,

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or looking at some of the responses,

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they settled on publishing the results

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of 12,000 two hundred eight hundred and twenty five.

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And so this earlier report in Washington State, the

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figures were a little bit lower.

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It was 18% problem drinking.

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So this had like, gone up two, two times.

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It was now 36% suffered from problem drinking.

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So we beat doctors, we beat dentists of having we,

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we became the, profession with the highest rates of,

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substance abuse, stress, and depression.

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Covid, I think, exacerbated a lot of these,

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issues

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because COID,

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exacerbated the sense of isolation that many attorneys feel.

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It also because people stayed home

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and weren't in the office, it sort of blurred the line

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of work-life balance.

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So instead of having more time with family,

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many attorneys found,

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because remember, we're dealing with type A personalities

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who are really perfectionists and very, results driven.

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So what happened? They had broader, spaces of time,

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they put more time into work.

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So it became this thing that I think for many attorneys,

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assigning attorneys

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or senior attorneys, many

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of the younger attorneys I've talked to felt

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that they could, they felt that they were reachable

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and available at all hours.

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But, you know, one of the things I didn't say

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to you was we talked about the Hazelden report.

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The American Bar Association decided they had a,

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commission on, attorney assistance programs,

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it's called coap.

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And they decided to form a task force

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and ask the task force for a report to sort of,

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look a little bit more broadly to see if these,

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what the Hazelden reported this article by Brill

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and Company, whether it was true

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and was this having this effect?

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What, what is it about the profession that causes all

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of this anxiety to happen?

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So they came out with the National Task Force report,

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a report on attorney wellbeing in 2017.

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So I just wanted to close that gap to say

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that there's been that whole thing too.

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And then covid hit in what, 2019 20.

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One of the things that people ask

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is, does it ease up?

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When I worked in a law firm

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and when this is many, many, many years ago, partners,

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in the very beginning, I'm talking about the 1980s

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partners were the ones who did the assigning.

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But I think today, partners work as hard as any associate,

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so they're not sitting back and, and taking it easy.

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And this report, the Hazelden report that did,

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surveyed the 12,825 lawyers

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over 3000 something,

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and I forget the exact figure, we're in the 31

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to 40, range.

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So the, you enter the profession, I'd say mid twenties.

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So this is like smack in the period when you are at your,

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not your height, but your beyond beginning, you know,

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and you're, you're maybe fighting

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or getting up there toward junior partner or whatever,

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or depending on what you're doing, doing,

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maybe you're not in a law firm.

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So this really affects all facets of the profession.

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And it was actually if to, if you dig deep into the data

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that the article was based on, the report was based on,

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you can actually extrapolate the various ages of attorneys.

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And this was really felt among, you know,

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across age, barriers.

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And, men, women, I mean, there are

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of course special stressors depending on family situation.

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There are special stressors depending on sexual orientation,

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feeling more isolated, race, if you are the only,

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person of a particular race in a firm

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or in a, in a company.

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I mean, all of these things exacerbate an

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already stressful job.

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The legal, wellbeing, network is really a marvelous,

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group.

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And I attend meetings whenever I can.

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In 2018, I think, Ralph Gantz,

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who was the chief justice

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of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Judicial Court,

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appointed a temporary, committee to study.

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He had obviously read the Hazelden report

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and the National Task Force report

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and came, constituted this committee

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and gave them the charge to look at Massachusetts lawyers.

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So, this happened in other states as well.

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There have been many of these kinds of reports,

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I'm just looking to see here.

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So the SJC steering committee on lawyer wellbeing report

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to the justices was submitted to,

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chief Justice Gantz on July 15th, 2019.

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So a year after they were little bit less than a year than

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they, were constituted as a committee.

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And it is an incredibly well-written, well-designed report

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where they had a broadband of, committee members

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representing, bench bar, legal services,

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the academy, the legal academy, big firms,

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pro bono firms, not pro bono firms,

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but legal, services.

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So it really represented

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and it really outlines, sort

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of the stressors that are inherent in each type

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of the practice of law.

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So, and the report just asked for more to be done,

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more education, you know, just like the national

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to task force report it called for bench bar

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and law schools to do more, to prepare,

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to prepare practitioners for this stressful job.

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A lot of it, the stress can't be helped you.

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A lot of it has to do with court deadlines, billable hours,

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just the sort of the

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business, you know, money is involved.

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So, lives can be involved depending on what kind

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of law law one practices families are involved.

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I mean, if law hits all facets of society, well, like,

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the SJC who looked

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and said, what's happening in the, nation,

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what's happening in Massachusetts?

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When I read that, I went to my then dean, who was,

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here at the law school

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and said, I see that some schools are starting to

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provide mindfulness.

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I was already, I'm MBSR certified,

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which is mindfulness based, stress reduction.

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And I said, you know, I lay, I lead sits meditation,

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sits here at the law school.

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Um, at various times I've done a little,

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some little programming, one-off programming,

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little mini retreats for the law students.

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I said, how about if I design a course

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and see if, you know, can go to,

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curriculum committee and just see if we can get a course

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like this off the ground?

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So I designed this course called Mindfulness

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and Contemplative Practices for Lawyers.

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And when I started doing it, I started, you know, doing

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so much reading on the topic

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and, reading law review articles.

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But then I decided people can always

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read a law review article.

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People can do this. I'm gonna make it based on MBSR.

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Well, mindfulness based Stress Reduction, which was designed

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by John Cabot in, so it's based on it,

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but it's a 13 week course to fit our semester.

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And basically we look at mindfulness practices,

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we look at meditation, we look at contemplative practices,

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but we tie everything into the practice of law.

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So for instance, I don't just say, let's meditate,

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we meditate, we do body scans, we do all of the things

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that one does in mindfulness space, stress reduction,

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but why to become more aware of ourselves.

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Because so often lawyers find it really hard to ask for help

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because they're the person in charge, they're the person

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who is helping others,

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they're the advocate, they're the leader.

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So this is to develop help lawyers,

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these type A personalities, which I identify with very much,

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being a reformed type A I think, or reforming.

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Um, we're learning self-awareness.

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We are learning self-compassion instead

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of being angry at ourselves for making mistakes

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or we're allowing ourselves to learn from mistakes.

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We're learning to be better listeners, in the course.

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So all of the things that we're studying

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or looking at, I liken it or I use it

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and bring it back to their practice so

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that it's not just learning it

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or having a lark on a Thursday afternoon, it's using it

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because as they found, being mindful, being

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balanced, being a healthy, being a lawyer who is well,

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is good for business, it's good for themselves,

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and it's the right thing to do.

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So it's not just doing this for the fun of it.

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This, when one is well balanced, it's, it,

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it will improve relationships,

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it will improve their business.

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No one gets in trouble in a law firm,

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or very seldom does one get in trouble for making,

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a mistake about the law.

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They get in trouble

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because they start numbing their feelings and then hiding it

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and not being able to admit

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that they've gone down this road.

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So this, I'm trying to give these young attorneys

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and the making these nascent attorneys some tools so

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that they don't move into dysfunctional, responses

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or reactions to these uncomfortable feelings, to these,

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habits or patterns of behavior.

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And they have to learn how to see these habits

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or patterns of behavior in order to identify them

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and do something positive for them.

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Well, you know, I read two excellent books this summer

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and one was Girl Walks Out of a Bar by Lisa Smith,

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and it was fabulous.

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And it's a such a brave memoir

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about her time in a big law firm in New York

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and how she really became, an alcoholic

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and I think a drug addict, if I'm not mistaken.

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And how she was drinking like wine when she woke up

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or vodka just because, and,

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and she was a very functional alcoholic, very,

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very bright woman, very articulate woman and how she did it.

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And then the other one was smacked a story of white collar,

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ambition, addiction, and tragedy.

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This was a young man

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who committed suicide while working for a big firm.

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And I just heard of a suicide in a,

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a big firm in New York recently of a 26 year old,

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young woman who, committed suicide.

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And who knows, may, maybe there were other mental health

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issues there before, but very often because,

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because lawyers are so much into taking in information,

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analyzing, researching, analyzing that information

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and writing and getting it out,

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and being, really being the hero

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because they're there to help people. They're there to,

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To do business deals, help people who need help,

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you know, whether they're dealing in legal services,

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it's very hard for them to admit, I have a problem,

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but yet they're only human.

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Nobody can get by with so much sleep deprivation

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or so much that overwhelming, inexorable sort

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of, workload that just won't go away.

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So they feel isolated,

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even if their firm has told them we're here.

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They're almost, they're afraid of the stigma.

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They're afraid of being labeled as weak

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or not partner material.

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If it's a partnership, it could just be a law office,

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or a legal services office.

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So they're afraid of, being labeled.

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So they start, well, this won't

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hurt, this will get me through.

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And then, you know, you know the story.

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People start, you know, a drink or two becomes three

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or four, and then before you know it, you're hooked.

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And it's that kind of thing.

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So that's what I'm trying to,

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if they would only sit on a cushion, you know,

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and just give themselves the spaciousness to respond.

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Because as John Cabot Zen says,

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mindfulness in his book is the intentional paying attention

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with awareness to the present moment without judgment.

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And too often lawyers are judging

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because they're taught

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to critically think they're judging themselves,

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they're judging others, they're judging them,

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they're just judging, and they just need some space

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to just be and not do.

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