Philosophy and Mission

There are nearly 1.2 million lawyers in the United States. Twenty percent of them suffer from Major Depression or alcoholism. This is much higher than the rates of Major Depression (6.5%) or alcoholism (10%) in society at large. Lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to be depressed than all other persons generally employed full time. They have the highest rate of divorce among all occupational groups and are near the top of the suicide list. Surveys show that more than half of all lawyers would quit their field and try something new if not prevented from doing so by economics. As it now exists, law practice generates levels of stress, misery, mental illness and substance abuse that are both shocking and unacceptable. 

More often than not, lawyers develop depression first – in response to chronic distress from the conditions of law practice – and then begin drinking to excess or using recreational drugs to “medicate” their depression. Lawyers weakened by depression and/or substance abuse need to heal. Because of the stigma associated with admitting you’re depressed, alcoholic or addicted to drugs, too many lawyers wait to seek help until after they’re charged with a disciplinary offense. This compounds their difficulties, because they must deal simultaneously with an illness that is devastating their law practice, intense psyche-ache and a State Bar prosecution that could take away their career. Their stress is heightened by the uncertainty of what will happen to them and by the need to come up with funds to pay for their state bar defense attorney at a time when their law practice is falling apart and funds are short. Sometimes they must go through the embarrassment of asking family, friends and colleagues for a loan, and the pain of being turned down.

I created Lawyers’ Wellbeing, Inc. to help the lawyers who are struggling with depression or chemical dependency to avoid this downward spiral or pull out of it before it’s too late. Through my book, blog, MCLE lectures and speaking events I will give lawyers the tools to remake their lives into an upward spiral. The tools that I teach include meditation, mindfulness, anger management, transforming the harsh inner critic to an inner colleague, nonviolent communication, attitudinal change, life-work balance, scientific principles of happiness, healthy nutrition and exercise. 

Although I advocate change on an individual level to help relieve the suffering of lawyers already burdened by depression or substance abuse, I also advocate systemic change in legal culture, legal education and the hourly billing system to alter the conditions that dispose lawyers to these problems.

Behind their mask of competence, self-assurance and professional distance lawyers are not the greedy sharks the public has portrayed them to be in jokes. Rather, they are fragile, vulnerable human beings. Like the clients they serve lawyers need interpersonal satisfaction through social connection, love, friendship, admiration and appreciation; transpersonal satisfaction through articulating and pursuing a life purpose which provides genuine meaning; and a mixture of play, creativity, laughter, pleasure, happiness and joy.

I have heard time and again that nothing can be done to change the fact that law is a "tough business" and a "pressure cooker." I have also heard time and again that lawyers have nothing to complain of, because they are consciously choosing to gain an affluent life style (with a big house, new cars, exotic family vacations and top colleges for their kids) in exchange for the daily suffering which results from having to battle the world's most arrogant, rude, insulting, offensive and obnoxious people (other lawyers). I do not believe either statement.

Law practice is a human activity which involves thinking, communication, disagreement over positions, efforts at persuasion, bargaining and rarely a trial. It can be done in a respectful, cooperative, and peaceful manner that does not involve the high degree of tension, animosity, verbal abuse and dehumanization which is so common today and which drives the stress level of lawyers into the red zone of illness.

Law practice need not serve shallow materialism or narcissism. It can express higher ends such as creative problem solving between individuals or groups to help each have their legitimate needs met; or the release of grudges, healing through forgiveness and the making of true peace. Empirical studies by experts in positive psychology have demonstrated that the selfish pursuit of money fails to produce lasting happiness, and that the only true wealth is the psychological wealth that comes from being a friend, being positively engaged with the world and having meaning from working with others to achieve a common goal.

Based on my personal experience and my research I believe that the adoption of a meditation practice and a meditative style of law practice can be a very potent driver for positive change. A lawyer who meditates is not agitated, anxious, defensive and reactive. He is calm, observant, aware and able to take time to respond from heart and head, not just blind impulse. Too many lawyers believe they must act immediately and decisively in every situation even if this leaves no time for considered reflection following the emergence of feelings and intuitions. They are also unduly influenced by the movies and TV series which portray successful lawyers as selfish, aggressive, combative, rude, deceitful and willing to double cross anyone to get their way. This way of being does not serve their clients and it undermines their mental and physical health.

There can be no doubt that legal education must be changed to help young lawyers be less adversarial, more willing to see each other as people (not automatic enemies), less interruptive and more willing to listen attentively without judgment. Adoption of Marshall Rosenberg's system of nonviolent communication would go a long way in improving lawyer-to-lawyer communication, because it focuses on needs and requests rather than negative judgments and coercive threats.

The present system of hourly billing must also be changed so that lawyers are not deprived of sunshine, fresh air, exercise, a social life, a family life, hobbies and healthy sleep to meet their employer's bottom line. Reducing the total number of work hours and making those hours more flexible would be a huge help.

For many years we heard about the conspiracy of silence by physicians which referred to the fact that doctors used to refuse en masse to testify against each other in medical malpractice cases no matter how egregious and harmful the malpractice in order to protect the profession from damage awards, discipline and raises in malpractice premiums. Now we have a conspiracy of denial in which lawyers will refuse to admit they are depressed or alcoholic and seek treatment before it's too late. All across the country lawyers are getting sued and disciplined because they kept their mood disorder or substance abuse disorder to themselves until they crossed too many lines.

I am personally in favor of promoting a culture of confidential disclosure in which impaired lawyers can seek and receive the help they need before they hurt clients and ruin their health and careers. Lawyer assistance programs in all fifty states exist to do this, but sadly they are very poorly funded. I hope to raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem facing lawyers and spur the investment of more funds to help them. Ailing lawyers hurt their clients, families and society unintentionally. It makes sense for us to help them, because by doing so we help ourselves.