An old joke that has floated around recovery circles for years tells the story of a relatively young man who passes away. Among his acquaintances, it was a well-known but not acknowledged fact that he couldn’t stop drinking. At the wake, one of the deceased’s old friends who had not seen his widow in quite some time approached her solemnly and after offering condolences, asked, “How did this happen?”
“Oh John,” she said, “the sad truth is Frank simply drank himself to death.”
“Did he ever try AA or another recovery group?” John asked.
“Oh, for heaven sakes, John, no—he wasn’t that bad.”
This is perhaps a not so funny way of highlighting the fact that most alcoholics don’t recover. For many it is simply because they, and perhaps those around them, never are willing to admit that they have a problem.
As many of us now know, lawyers have a much higher rate of incidence of alcoholism than those in the overall population. One group determined that the rate of alcoholism among lawyers is twice that among adults generally.
I believe this is true for two reasons. First, the nature of our business leaves us vulnerable to high rates of depression, stress, long hours and sleepless nights. Relief from alcohol is at times the easy answer.
Second, many who do drink alcoholically have developed, through years of training, strong streaks of independence and at times perhaps arrogance; as a result, they simply can’t and won’t believe that they can’t handle the problem on their own. Because of this, the percentage of alcoholic lawyers is skewed because many simply never try to seek help.
Legal Training Fosters Unhealthy Behaviors
I didn’t become an alcoholic because of practice-induced stress. Looking back, I realize that I was an alcoholic long before I even decided to attend law school. But I did develop a certain sense of invincibility with my legal expertise. The piece of paper that told me I was a “professional” helped me believe that I wasn’t one of “them,” and that if I ever did develop problems, I’d deal with them.
Many believe that substance abuse among lawyers actually begins when they’re in college. What factors then lead to substance abuse?
According to Professor Dubin, at least 10% of lawyers have some sort of problem with a form of addictive behavior. Though this is a high number, it closely echoes society as a whole. But during lawyers’ careers, this percentage increases to an estimated 20%. In fact, short-term or chronic symptoms of depression, stress or other self-destructive behavior can, at one time or another, affect 33% of legal professionals.
Others correlate this increase from pre-law school to career involvement with the competitive nature of our business—we’re driven to achieve material success and prestige, and need to feel as if we can pull our weight with billable hours.
Several years ago, at an ABA-sponsored program on stress management and burnout, Standish McCleary, a psychologist and former lawyer, identified some reasons why lawyers are above the norm for depression and often become addicted:
• Time constraints and deadlines
• The high-stakes nature of the work which can cause clients to lose their property, freedom, and even life
• High expectations for level of expertise and
• Consistent scrutiny and critical judgment of work from opposing counsel or courts
• The conflict-driven legal process (“opposing counsel must always be determined to prove us wrong”)
• An ever-present threat of malpractice
• An understandable and at times admirable tendency to assume the clients’ burdens
• The demise of professional cordiality and loss of close fellowships
• Professional training requiring us to notice and anticipate the negative and downside in all situations
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
1. Notre Dame Magazine, autumn, 1999; “I know I’m Not Alone,” by Rick Hoel, The Complete Lawyer, March, 2008
2. “Addiction and Lawyers: Substance Abuse in the Legal Profession”, quoting Professor Larry Dubin at The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
3. “The Devastation of Depression: Lawyers Are at Greater Risk — It’s an Impairment to Take Seriously” by Michael J. Sweeney.
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