The Trouble with Lawyers
Addiction and Behavior Health Issues Challenge the Profession
By John M. Olson
In a recent comprehensive national
study conducted by the Hazelden Betty
Ford Foundation in conjunction with
the American Bar Association (ABA)
Commission on Lawyers Assistance
Programs (LAPs), new insight was gained
into the addiction and mental health
problems plaguing American lawyers. The
study was printed in the February 2016
issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine.
A survey questionnaire was sent to
approximately 15,000 lawyers in 19 states,
with approximately 13,000 responses.
What were a few key revelations learned
from the responses?
• 21 percent of licensed, employed lawyers
qualify as problem drinkers;
• 28 percent struggle with some level of
depression; and
• 19 percent demonstrate symptoms of
anxiety.
The study further found when the focus
is solely on the volume and frequency of
alcohol consumed, at least one in three
practicing attorneys are problem drinkers.
Additional findings reveal problem
drinking and higher levels of depression are
significantly higher among men, although
women were found to have higher incidents
of anxiety. Contrary to earlier beliefs that
longer serving lawyers were more apt to
demonstrate such problems, it is the younger
lawyers, in the first 10 years of practice, that
statistics show have the highest numbers
suffering from these problems. Finally, an
alarming percentage of addiction and mental
health issues exist in growing numbers prior to
law school, 25 percent according to the survey.
Unaddressed, these concerns only get worse
with the stress and strain of the educational
demands imposed on students.
Quoted in a recent ABA news clip on the
survey, the study’s authors, Patrick R. Krill,
director of the Legal Professional Program
at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and
Linda Albert, representative of the ABA
Commission on LAPs, expanded on their
conclusions. Recognizing it may be difficult to
determine when a lawyer needs help, there are
signs and symptoms to watch for, according to
Albert:
• A person’s behavior changes, they start
coming in late to the office or leaving early;
• Their work product changes, they have
decreased production or the quality of their
work suffers;
• They isolate, stop attend