The statistics for mental health issues, substance abuse, and suicide within the legal profession are alarming. The true statistics are unknown due to many cases that go unreported, as people are afraid to seek professional help for fear that disclosure will negatively impact their careers. With law students and lawyers approximately two times more likely than the general population to die by suicide and many at risk for depression, alcoholism, and other issues, more needs to be done to address these issues.
This course will focus on the stresses particular to lawyers and the character traits that lead many lawyers to struggle at different points in their careers. We will discuss the following wellness spectrum as it relates to self-care for lawyers - Wellness[prevention] --> Mental health support[intervention]--> Suicidal ideation[crisis] – and how it is critical for us all to know where we fall on the spectrum at any given time and to respond accordingly. We will offer recommendations related to wellness (prevention), burnout, active mental health struggle/addiction, and suicide and expand on how individual attorneys can manage mental health in today's legal profession.
We will also explore what law firms, judges, government offices and other stakeholders can do to make “work-life balance” a realistic possibility. We will examine options other than the billable hour and the likelihood of their implementation. We will discuss the ABA Well-Being Pledge and its impact on improving the work environment. Questions related to such initiatives will be explored, discussed, and answered.
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