CBA Record Feb-March 2018

YLS Special Issue: The Benefits of Belonging

By Christine P. Anderson

CultivatingWellness in the Legal Profession

T he practice of law is a high pressure, high stress profession. Lawyers, judges and law students are facing an increasingly competitive and stressful field. Judges and lawyers provide important services to the public, which can affect the lives and livelihoods of the people they serve. Because of this high pressure lifestyle

abuse, depression and other mental health disorders, including a high rate of suicidal thoughts, are at astonishingly high rates in the legal profession. In fact, lawyers rank fifth in incidences of suicide by occupation. These findings raise troubling implications for lawyers’ basic judgment and compe- tence to practice law.

and the legal practitioner’s tendency to be a perfectionist and overachiever, they are at a greater risk for substance abuse and mental health issues. To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer. Our profession, however, is failing when it comes to lawyer well- being. Studies have found that substance

32 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018