Linked – Investigative Report: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Threaten the Legal Profession
These numbers are startling –
A Johns Hopkins University study of more than 100 professions revealed that lawyers are 3.6 times as likely to be depressed as people with other jobs, while the landmark 2016 American Bar Association (ABA) and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation study determined that 28% of licensed, employed lawyers suffer depression. The study also showed that 19% demonstrate symptoms of anxiety and 21% qualify as problem drinkers.
And it’s not just the lawyers, I would be willing to bet. All that stress flows downhill to legal staff, and creeps into their home lives as well. Let’s face it, there’s a reason the stereotypes about lawyers are as unpleasant as they are, because this might just be a very toxic profession, led by toxic people.
But, will anything change?
