Young Lawyers Division, 0419 UTBJ, Vol. 32, No. 2. 66
| Author | Michael F. Iwasaki |
| Position | Vol. 32 2 Pg. 66 |
March,
2019
Fit2Practice:
Ways to Improve Our Mental Health and Personal
Well-Being
Michael F. Iwasaki
How
many times have we heard that being an attorney is stressful?
Whether you are working at a big firm, solo practice firm, or
a government agency, stress seems to be a universal theme for
the legal community. As attorneys, we are trained to be
tough, hard-working professionals. From day one of law school
until retirement, we seem to be on a constant rollercoaster
ride of highs and lows, from negotiating a huge settlement
one minute to being berated and threatened by an angry client
the next. It is easy to get caught up in this chaotic world
and lose sight of our personal well-being. It is with this
understanding that various individuals and organizations have
recently begun the long-overdue task of studying and
promoting mental health awareness and improvement of
well-being within the legal community.
Recognizing
the Problem
In
2016, the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer
Assistance Programs (CoLAP) and the Hazelden Betty Ford
Foundation conducted a study to measure the prevalence of
substance abuse and mental health concerns among attorneys.
Patrick R. Krill, Ryan Johnson & Linda Albert, The
Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns
Among American Attorneys, 10 J Addict Med 1 (Jan./Feb.
2016). Of the 12,825 attorneys who responded to the survey,
20.6% showed signs of potentially hazardous and harmful
alcohol-dependent drinking. Furthermore, it was noted that
the prevalence of mental health issues among attorneys was
significant, with 28% of respondents experiencing depression,
23% having high levels of stress, and 19% showing signs of
anxiety. Id.
The
results of this study were concerning enough that it led to
the creation of a task force and the ABA Working Group to
Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession. Anna Marie Kukec,
Working Toward Well-Being: Tools Help Lawyers and Legal
Employers Deal with Substance-Abuse Disorders, available
at
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/wellbeing_lawyers_
substance_abuse_toolkit (Jan. 2019). They developed and
presented Resolution 105 in 2018, asking all stakeholders in
the legal profession to review and consider recommendations
made in the report The Path to Lawyer Well-Being:
Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, by the
National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being. Id. at 2.
This report concentrated on different methods for reducing
stress and promoting well-being by providing recommendations
and action plans for all legal profession stakeholders,
including law schools, employers, regulators, bar
associations, and...
To continue reading
Request your trial