Mental Health, Mindfulness, and the Business of Law

• Author: Daniel S. Wittenberg
• Pages: 26-27

Published in Litigation News Volume 47, Number 3, Spring 2022. © 2022 b y the American Bar Ass ociation. Reproduc ed with permission. A ll rights reserv ed. This information or an y portion there of may not be copied or dis seminated in any

form or by any means or sto red in an electronic da tabase or retrieval sy stem without the ex press writt en consent of the Amer ican Bar Associatio n.

orking professionals continue to struggle

with mental health issues caused or exac-

erbated by COVID-19. Certainly, no sector

has been spared the emotional impact of the

pandemic, although legal professionals and

staff have been particularly struck by the extensive feelings

of loneliness, loss, and strain brought on by pandemic-related

struggles. Addressing these issues is paramount. Law rms are

increasingly offering mental health initiatives, and attorneys

are becoming more forthright in tackling their concerns. But

there is still some way to go.

By the Numbe rs

Attorneys and staff have long battled depression and sub-

stance abuse. Self-destructive tendencies like overworking

have been the norm to the detriment of attorney wellness.

During the past few years, awareness toward nding ways

to address these issues has increased. Unfortunately, reports

show some lost ground in these areas.

According to AL M’s 2021 Men tal Health and Substa nce

Abuse Sur vey, law rmattorneys and staff r eported an

increase in ment al health troubles acro ss the board from

prior years. The A LM report surveyed more than 3, 200 law

rm attorneys a nd staff. Of respondents, 37 percent said

they felt depressed in t he prior year, an increase of nearly

6 percent compared with t he information from the 2020

report; 71 percent of resp ondents indicated ex periencing

anxiety, up 7 percent over th e prior year; and 14 percent

noted they have a differ ent mental illne ss, up over 2 percent

from the previous year.

When questioned about the impact of the pandemic on their

mental health, 70 percent of respondents said the pandemic made

it worse. Isolation was the largest harmful inuence on mental

health. Almost 51 percent of those who took the survey said they

felt isolated. When asked what is causing their mental health to

suffer, 35 percent said isolation, 14 percent said working remotely,

and 12 percent indicated disruption of routine.

“My rm is generally a good place to work. COVID really

threw things off, and I’ve felt pretty isolated working from

home,” stated one respondent in an article published recently

in the American Lawyer. “If anything, I’d describe the expe-

rience of the past year as total isolation with no boundaries

between work and personal life. No amount of Zoom ‘happy

hours’ or ‘coffee chats’ can overcome that,” the respondent

told the American Lawyer.

According to AL M’s survey, 61 percent of respondent

lawyers feel as if the y “can’t disconn ect,” up from 58 percent

the previous year. “I am ex pected to be on 24/7,” another

Mental Health, Mindfulness, and the

Business of Law

By Daniel S. Witte nberg, Litigation N ews Associate Editor

© Getty Image s

26 | LITIGATION SECTI ON

BUSINESS OF LAW