The Lawyer Well-Being Movement
A national task force report recommends 44 ways to a healthier environment for attorneys.
By Eric Quitugua
Bree Buchanan built an impressive resume during her law career. Along
the way, she became an alcoholic. Abusing alcohol, along with
prescription drugs, was, in Buchanan’s words, an effective way to deal
with the stress and anxiety of law school and a legal career. But after
losing her job with a nonprofit, she realized she needed help.
“It worked until it didn’t work anymore,” said Buchanan, director of the
Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program, or TLAP, which provides confidential
help to law students, lawyers, and judges who have problems with
substance abuse or mental health issues. “At some point, the abuse of
those things started to turn into an addiction and, ultimately, the
house of cards that I had built began to tumble. I lost my marriage, and
I lost my job.”
As co-chair of the National Task Force on
Lawyer Well-Being, Buchanan hopes her story can put a face on recovery.
In August, the task force—a group of American Bar Association members
and non-ABA members—released a report with 44 recommendations for a
healthier environment for attorneys.
Though there is no
one-size-fits-all approach to changing the culture, “The Path to Lawyer
Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change” focuses on
five general areas: (1) identifying stakeholders and the role each plays
in reducing toxicity in law practice, (2) ending the stigma on trying to
improve well-being, (3) emphasizing that an attorney’s well-being is
vital to their ability to work, (4) educating attorneys, judges, and law
students on mental health and substance use disorders, and (5) creating
a culture that prioritizes self-care and helping others.
Attorneys, the task force’s report concluded, are at a higher risk for
threats to well-being than people in many other professions.
Perhaps the biggest threat to an attorney’s well-being is the stigma
surrounding it. Shame over mental health problems and substance abuse
and addiction is a societal problem but it’s even more acute in the
legal world, Buchanan said. The report identified several reasons why an
attorney may keep quiet about their struggles: fear of adverse
reactions, fear of career repercussions, appearing weak, or maintaining
an air of self-reliance. The problem becomes amplified when attorneys
internalize their struggles.
The best way to reduce stigma is
putting a face to recovery, Buchanan said, and the way to do it is
connecting with someone who is dealing with the disorder or the issue.
She credits the genesis of her sobriety to the guidance of a TLAP
volunteer attorney who offered support for getting into and maintaining
recovery.
But why are attorneys more susceptible to stress,
burnout, drug abuse, or disorders like bipolar or depression? It’s a
whirlwind of the profession’s adversarial nature and incivility, where
interactions between attorneys, clients, judges, legal staff, and others
can turn toxic. Too much of it, and courtrooms can become breeding
grounds for burnout and emotional and physiological damage, the report
found.
Last year, the American Bar Association Commission on
Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
released a study that found that 32 percent of lawyers 30 years old or
younger have a drinking problem, 28 percent of lawyers struggle with
some level of depression, and 11 percent of lawyers have had suicidal
thoughts at some point in their career. It shed light on some harsh
realities about the legal profession and brought to the forefront a
disturbing fact: younger lawyers and law students were developing
drinking problems.
“As I went through law school, I developed
an anxiety disorder,” Buchanan said. “I resorted to the accepted way to
deal with stress and anxiety, which was to drink and drink heavily.”
It’s Buchanan’s hope that the task force report will encourage
a climate of change. “We have to create a culture in the legal
profession where help-seeking is encouraged,” Buchanan said. “If you
have a problem, get help.” Substance use disorders, addiction, and major
depression are not curable, but just like diabetes or heart disease,
they are manageable, she said. “Get healthy rather than hiding it,”
Buchanan said. “Step up to the plate and take care of your health.”
TBJ
To get help or more information, call
1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or go to tlaphelps.org. To read a copy of
the task force’s report, go to texasbar.com/wellbeing_report.
