Introducing the Colorado Well-being Recognition Program for Legal Employers

• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 48

Introducing the Colorado Well-Being Recognition Program for Legal Employers Vol. 52, No. 2 [Page 48] Colorado Bar Journal March, 2023

Bar News Highlight

There's growing concern within the legal profession over a lack of attorney well-being. Data show attorneys suffer from a higher incidence of mental health and substance use issues, and there is a failure to thrive in the profession as evidenced by significant attorney attrition in legal organizations and the profession generally. An expanding body of literature and surveys confirm the magnitude of the problems in our profession:

▪ A 2016 study of 13,000 currently practicing lawyers found that between 21% and 36% qualify as problem drinkers and 19% to 28% are struggling with significant levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.^[1]

▪ These problems lead to high absenteeism and underproductive lawyers, resulting in high costs to law firms.^[2]

▪ Lawyers are leaving law firms at higher rates than ever before. In 2017, law firms lost to attrition an average of 16% of associates annually, with 44% percent of associates leaving within three years and 75% leaving within five years.^[3]

▪ According to one estimate, the cost of replacing a departing associate ranges from $200,000 to $500,000, or roughly 1.5 to 2 times the annual salary of the associate. This only estimates hard costs and may not include lost productivity, other lawyers' time, and disrupted intrafirm and client relationships.^[4]

In 2017, the National Task Force on Attorney Well-Being called upon the legal profession to address well-being issues. In response, under the leadership of Justice Monica Marquez of the Colorado Supreme Court, a task force on attorney well-being was formed in 2018 to consider ways to increase lawyers' and legal organizations' awareness of these issues.

The Colorado Supreme Court's Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP) addresses these issues per Colo. RCP 254 by providing consultations with behavioral health specialists, voluntary monitoring for mental health and substance use issues, assistance for colleagues or family members who are concerned about a member of the legal profession, and education about both well-being and behavioral health issues.

COLAP also assists legal employers through workplace well-being consultations. However, COLAP's resources are dedicated to serving the entire Colorado legal community and are not specifically geared or equipped to focus exclusively...